


Renounce Thine Name

by GhoulishFrightAndDelight



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:00:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23184433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhoulishFrightAndDelight/pseuds/GhoulishFrightAndDelight
Summary: An unwanted child, torn from her home, to join the covenant of Satan.Follow Dana and her life at the Clergy, where she grows into all she can be.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

“This is it, Ms Fitzroy. We’re almost there.”    
  
The driver was currently pulling up to a gate, and then drove slowly down a long driveway. The abbey came into view behind an orchard and Dana watched this place come closer with large eyes, saying nothing.    
Nobody had told her anything, except that she was going to live at a church now.    
Within no time, he pulled up to the steps and got out of the car to open her door and unload her luggage. Dana didn’t possess much, all of her things fitting into one large suitcase.    
  
The driver nodded at her, but then just drove off, leaving the girl to stand in front of the steps leading up to the main portal.    
She stared at it for a few moments and then she grabbed hold of her suitcase, pulling it up the stairs with her. It was so heavy, she almost didn’t manage.    
  
In front of the portal, Dana went to knock, and then froze, her fist hanging in the air.    
She didn’t want to do this, she didn’t want a new home. She didn’t like her old home very much either, but this was change and change scared her. 

The girl stood in front of the wooden door for a good 20 minutes, not daring to move. She knew there was no way back, nowhere to go, but she couldn’t bring herself to knock.    
And then the portal swung open, revealing an old lady in a black dress.   
She smiled kindly at her, ushering the girl inside.    
  
“You must be Dana. We have been expecting you. Come, come.”

The blonde girl followed her, heaving her luggage behind her. The older lady frowned and Dana shrunk in on herself, hoping she didn’t do anything wrong.    
  
“That’s too heavy for you, dear. Hold on..”    
  
She looked around, hearing heavy footsteps coming down the hall.    
  
“Aether! Your timing is golden as usual! Come here, take this suitcase. It weighs more than her!”    
  
Dana stared, mouth wide open. She had no idea what she was looking at. A tall.. creature? Claws, a tail, horns…    
Frightened, she took a step back.    
  
“Oh, dear, it’s alright,” The older lady hurried over to her, laying her hand on the girl’s arm.    
“It’s okay, this is just Aether. He’s a ghoul. I take it no one prepared you what kind of place this is?”   
  
“N-no. No one told me anything..” she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. He.. she had no idea what he was.   
  
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you,” the ghoul told her, smiling down at the girl. He tried not to bare his fangs at her, not wanting to freak her out even more.    
A clawed hand closed around the grip of her suitcase, easily lifting it up and waiting for the Sister to lead the way.    
  
“Come along, Dana. We’re going up to meet Papa now. And by the way, I am Sister Imperator. I’m in charge of the Siblings here, so you can come to me with any problems.”   
  
Dana let herself be led away, too preoccupied to protest. The creature followed them, his footsteps heavy on the stone floors.    
She paled, not knowing what to make of this place.    
Up the stairs, down long hallways, past people clad in black who threw them curious glances.    
The blonde girl stared down at her feet, letting Imperator guide the way, almost stumbling when they came to a pair of ornately carved wooden doors.   
Imperator knocked delicately, and then opened the doors with a flourish, ushering the girl inside.    
  
“Papa! I’ve collected the Fitzroy girl.”    
  
“I can see that, Sister,” came the grumble from behind the desk. Dana stood in the doorway, staring at the man in skull paint, sitting in his chair primly in ornate robes, and staring at her with his mismatched stare. That got Dana the most. One eye was green, the other white.    
With a start, she jumped forward when Aether poked her in the back with his tail.    
  
“Sorry,” he murmured.    
“You were kind of frozen.”   
  
Dana blushed beetred for a second before following Imperator into the room. She led the girl over to the chairs in front of the desk and they sat down.    
The girl was still staring at the skull-faced man like a deer caught in the headlights when a man came in from a door to the side unexpectedly, and Dana flinched.    
  
“You’re a jumpy one, hmm?” came the offhand comment from him, and he grinned at her, baring his fangs.    
  
“Arsino,” Papa barked, glaring at the ghoul.   
“That’s enough out of you.”

His ghoul was right, the Fitzroy girl was jumpy and tense, but it wasn’t a problem. Papa was convinced she’d grow less skittish once she settled in, having seen this before, especially in younger siblings who were scared of the ghouls.    
The green tinged ghoul gave him a lazy grin, and took his usual place behind his Papa’s chair.    
Dana’s eyes followed him, before a slight cough turned her attention back to the man behind the desk.    
  
“Miss Fitzroy. Has anyone told you why you are here? About what kind of place this is?”   
  
“N-no, sir.. I mean, sort of.. I was told I’d live in a church.”    
  
She eyed the two demons again, clearly unnerved and rightfully suspecting this was not a regular church. Papa sighed. He had feared this the second she had walked in with those wide, scared eyes. This would be a difficult transition for her.   
  
“We are indeed a church. The church of Emeritus. This is a satanic convent, dedicated to our unholy Father below.”   
  
If Papa waited for a reaction, he was disappointed. Dana didn’t respond. She didn’t even look him in the eyes, he noted.    
  
“People come to us,” he pressed on, resting his laced fingers on his desk, “because they believe, or because they are desperate. They choose this life. You, however, do not have this choice. You’re here to fulfill a contract I made with your ancestor.”

At that, Dana did glance up to meet his gaze for a moment. She never had a say in what happened to her, that didn’t even faze her, but this contract business was curious to the girl.    
She wanted to know about it, but she didn’t dare ask. This man, Papa, he had not permitted her to speak up.    
But he saw the curiosity in her eyes.

“Ah, so no one told you about that either. Miss Fitzroy, do you know where your family’s wealth and status come from? How they began?”

“Not really? I know Father has a business, but Mother said we mustn’t ask, it was no concern to us.”   
  
Answering was alright, Dana figured. After all, she was to reply when asked a question. But her voice was still very timid. Questions about home were always difficult. Dana knew she was not allowed to answer to everything when it came to that.   
  
“I am the source. I am old, Miss Fitzroy. Very old. I made a deal with your ancestor. He got wealth and power. And in return, he offered all he had. His second daughter. A smart girl, very gifted. Since then, every generation gives the second daughter to our convent, in return for the family’s status. That is why you are here.”

Dana looked at him, eyes torn wide with surprise at this revelation. Could he be lying to her? Trying to trick her? But the girl didn’t feel dishonesty from him. No, he didn’t have to lie, this man was above that.    
But this deal.. Her father hadn’t held up his end. Dana wasn’t the second daughter, she was the firstborn one. But she didn’t say anything, Somehow, she knew she must be loyal to her family. And she knew her parents had a reason for getting rid of her in favour of her younger sister. Rosalyn was engaged, after all. To the son of one of her father’s partner. They  _ needed  _ her.    
  
“What is going to happen to me? Will I stay here?”

“Yes. You will stay here. Like I said, other people have a choice, you do not.” Papa was amazed that she was taking this all so well,    
He motioned to Arsino behind him, and the ghoul nodded.    
Aether followed him over to the altar by the window, and prepared something Dana could not see, with their broad backs hiding the altar from view. 

“Now. The ghouls are preparing the ritual. You will have to be initiated, and then, you will start a new life.”   
  
Papa stood, beckoning for the girl to follow him. Sister Imperator, who had been silent for their entire exchange, squeezed Dana’s arm reassuringly and gave her an encouraging smile.    
She tried to return it, but it was more of a grimace. The ghouls stepped back from the altar, and stood behind Dana.    
Though unspoken, they were there as a security measure, to ensure she wouldn’t try and flee.    
  
Papa stood beside the altar, a beautiful thing of carved ebony, inlaid with gold to show scenes of satanic tales. 

Dana could hardly take in how intricate and beautiful it was however, grey eyes resting on the golden chalice and crystal carafe full of crimson liquid. Papa pulled a little cotton bag and a blade from a hidden drawer. The blade looked strange to the blonde girl. It was made of stone, a black stone, gleaming in the late afternoon sun that streamed in through the window. It made her take a step back, but there were immediately hands on her shoulder.    
  
“Don’t worry, love. It’s not going to hurt much and it’ll be over before you know it.”    
  
The ghoul’s mutters, Arsino was his name, Dana recalled, were not really comforting. His hands were though, even with the claws she could see out of the corners of her eyes.    
She watched Papa take a pinch of powder from the bag and drop it in the chalice,   
Then, he turned to her, blade in hand.    
  
“Come here. Give me your hand.”    
  
He was patient, waiting for Dana to lay her small hand in his gloved one.    
She was very pale, eying the knife as if it would bite her, which, to be fair, it could. Papa pulled her closer to the altar and stared down at her over his hooked nose. 

  
“You will be bound to us by blood. Bound to our unholy father. Your old life is over now, Miss Fitzroy.”    
  
Before she could object, or ask a question of any kind, he swiped the blade over her open palm. 

Dana pulled back, hissing fiercely and Papa dropped her hand as if it burned him.    
He stared at the girl, a surprised look on his face. That was very curious. He’d have to keep an eye on that. Some of the other Fitzroy girls had had powers, but none had ever reacted instinctually.    
  
“I apologise, Miss Fitzroy. I should have warned you. Give me your hand, please. We need some blood and then I will heal the cut.”   
  
Dana was hesitant, almost suspicious. The cut on her hand throbbed but what choice did she have. She held it out again for him to take.    
This man, Papa, held her hand over the chalice and let a generous amount of her blood drip in.    
His other hand came up to hover over her cut, and Dana watched in fascination as her skin knitted itself back together. 

“How did you do that?”    
  
“It’s magic, Miss Fitzroy. If you have a gift for it, you’ll see a lot more of it.”    
  
Dana took that in, watching as he added some crimson liquid from a crystal carafe. She knew that smell. It was red wine, and good one. Like the one her mother used to drink a bottle or two of every night.    
  
Papa turned back to her, holding the golden chalice with both hands and staring down at her.    
He looked very sombre all of a sudden, very serious.    
  
“Dana Fitzroy. You are here with us now, to become one of us. To be reborn a Sister of Sin.”    
  
He held the chalice up to her lips and Dana drank. It tasted nothing like wine any more. There was a bite of alcohol, but it tasted metallic and sharp and Dana almost coughed it back up.    
One of the ghouls behind her gently patted her back, helping her out.    
  
“You are here to enter a bond with out Lord, Lucifer, the unholy father below. We serve him, we spread his light, we are his to command. You will be renounce thine name, become his in body and soul. You will enter our covenant with him, Sister, and join us. You will be Legion, for we are many.”    
  
He held up the chalice a second time and this time Dana was ready and able to drink the biting concoction better. This time the chalice was held to her lips longer, and she had to catch a breath once it was removed.    
  
“Are you ready to leave behind your old life? To sever all ties with was before. To renounce thine name and thy family. You will stay here, in the lap of your new family, enlightened by the morning star. Are you ready?”   
  
“I am.”    
  
The Chalice was held to her lips one last time and Dana drank. Her small hands laid themselves on Papa’s bigger ones, holding on to the golden cup.    
She drank to the very last drop, gasping when she was done.    
Dana was feeling lightheaded, swaying on the spot slightly, but she smiled. It felt.. incredible. The things Papa said… She’d stop being a Fitzroy, the unwanted child, the outcast.    
Now she was part of something larger than herself.    
  
“Be reborn, Sister Dana. Welcome to the fold.” 


	2. Chapter 2 - Making Friends

Chapter 2 - Discoveries

  
Dana had been at the convent for two weeks now. In these two weeks, she often thought back to her initiation. All that happened after she drank the wine was hazy. The two ghouls helped steady her when she swayed and she had given them the biggest smile.    
One of them, she couldn’t remember which, had brought her to the infirmary.    
She had been so dazed, but she vaguely remembered that they took a full physical exam.    
  
And that was exactly what drove Dana to pull away from everyone. She hid in her room, with the other sisters, but she talked to no one.    
The sisters were fine with that apparently, they didn’t seem to like her very much.    
So Dana slept very little and took to wandering the gardens alone.    
  


She was very good at going unnoticed, and whenever she saw one of the ghouls who had been at her initiation or Sister Imperator, she would melt behind a tapestry. She had a knack of finding the ones that led to secret passages.    
In her third week, she found her salvation.    
  
In one of the thick hedges in front of the walls around the convent there was a hidden opening. Curious, she crawled inside and found that the brambles had grown to form a natural room. Nothing in this place with demons and magic surprised her any more. She just took whatever she could get, and this little space in the hedge became her hideaway.    
Dana would come here just to think, to be alone, sometimes to sleep away from prying eyes. It was one of those nights where she jerked awake, and tried to hide in the leaves when she heard cracking and cursing.    
  
“Ugh, I’m too fucking tall for this.. Oh… Hello there.”    
  
Dana looked up at the intruder with wide, scared eyes. No one had ever come here.    
She didn’t know how to react, not noticing that she simply stared at him for a good three minutes.    
  
“Are you okay? I probably scared you, sorry about that. I’m Mountain. Who are you?”   
  
“I.. I’m Dana.. I’m sorry, is this your space? I can leave, I’m sorry.”    
  
She was already trying to figure out how to get past him without touching him, but to her surprise, he simply chuckled.    
Sitting himself down more comfortable he pulled some items from his pocket that Dana didn’t recognize and grinned at her.    
  
“Nah, it’s fine. I enjoy the company.” He poured out some green crumbles into a small circular box and began to grind them, looking down at the still scared girl.    
  
“You’re Dana eh? Aether told us about you. He was at your initiation. Big, beefy guy?”    
  
Right… He’d been the one who she already met at the doors and who’d scared the living daylights out of her.   
  
“I remember him,” she said softly, watching him pour out the crushed leaflets into a piece of paper. Dana might have been sheltered but she knew what he was doing.    
“Is that why you’re hiding? Because it’s forbidden?”   
  
“Nah… Sometimes I just like to blaze in peace and quiet. Not that you’re not welcome to sit here with me. You have a very chill aura.”    
  
Dana took that as a compliment. Aside from the fact that this dude had horns and a tail, he was much less scary than the rest of them.    
He was very mellow.    
Dana simply watched him, not sure what to say to him. She wasn’t good at speaking without being spoken to.    
But Mountain seemed to sense that.    
  
“I haven’t seen you around much. They didn’t give you a job yet, hmm?”   
  
“Uhm, no. I was just told to explore sorta.”    
  
“How do you like it so far?”    
  
That put Dana on the spot. She didn’t quite know how to answer that, considering she’d spent most of her time hiding from everyone.    
But what she did see of the convent so far was really pretty.    
  
“It’s… beautiful here. The gardens are very peaceful. Especially at night.”    
  
The ghoul nodded in agreement. Seemed like their new sister didn’t sleep very well. But he didn’t want to zero down on that. Dana appeared to be very shy to him. He’d seen her a few times, but she had never talked to anyone as far as he could tell.    
He could tell that she needed a friend.    
  
“Well, I’m glad you don’t hate it here,” he gave her a wide smile, taking another drag from his blunt.    
“If you like the gardens, maybe you can ask Sister Imperator to work out here. Honestly, it’s not a popular job amongst the siblings, since it’s hard work, but the earth ghouls have a blast. And it would give you something to do but wander around all the time.”    
  
That did sound nice. She had really loved working with the gardeners at home. But that would require seeking out Sister Imperator which was kind of scary to her. On the other hand, he was right. She’d have something to do and maybe she’d get tired at night.    
She looked up at Mountain, not sure how to bring up her next thought.    
  
“You think.. I mean.. Would it be possible if you.. I don’t know..”    
  
“You want me to come with? I getcha, don’t worry. Sister Imperator is very nice, but she can be a bit intimidating. Wanna meet up after breakfast? She’s usually in her office in the mornings.”    
  
Dana gave him a relieved smile. That sounded just wonderful.   
  
  


* * *

Dana was incredibly ansty next morning. She barely ever went to breakfast anyway and today she just forced down some fruit and then waited for Mountain by the doors.    
She didn’t have to wait very long.    
  
He came out of the mess hall with some of his bandmates, a tall lanky ghoul and the one she’d met before, Aether.    
  
“Good morning, Dana. Ready to go?” He asked once he’d seen her in the corner. She nodded and gave him a small smile, eyes darting to the other ghouls.    
  
“Oh, this is Swiss. And you remember Aether?”    
  
“Good morning, Dana. I hope you’re doing well?”    
  
She gave Aether a shy smile. He’d been very kind to her before, but she was still nervous about the people here. Swiss greeted her as well, flashing her a bright smile.   
  
“Yes, thank you. I hope you’re doing well too.” She felt awkward even saying it, but it was only polite.    
  
Mountain saw that she was suffering here and gestured for Dana to follow him.   
  
“Come on, let’s see Imperator. Catch you guys later.”    
  
He waved to them and started off down the hall, a very relieved Dana right behind him.    
Mountain slowed down his steps so she didn’t have to run to keep up.    
When the girl fell into step beside him, he glanced over at her.    
  
“Hey Dana? You know you can loosen up a little, yeah? I know it’s hard to make new friends in a strange place, but we’re not gonna bite your head off. I know I look forward to working with you in the gardens.”    
  
“Really? How come?” Dana seemed genuinely surprised by that and Mountain felt a wave of pity wash over him. This girl had never had a friend before, and it was showing. Mountain was generally the stoic one of his friends. The one who didn’t say much and when he did, it was usually blunt as a brick to the face.   
  


“Okay, come here.” Mountain guided the young sister over to a window seat and sat down, gently pushing her to the seat opposing him.    
  
“Dana, you seem like a really sweet, really sheltered kid. But I think you’re cool, so sure I would like to hang out with you more.”   
  
“You’re the first person to ever want to spend time with me. I just.. I’m confused.”   
  
What a poor thing, Mountain thought. Absolutely alone… Which made him remember something,   
  
“Dana, how are the girls in your dorm treating you? You’ve been here almost a month now and well… It looks like you haven’t made a friend yet..”    
  
He knew this was probably not entirely due to her shy nature. Some of the siblings were real bitches. Catty Monsters who thought themselves better than others. That’s why the ghouls kept mainly to themselves or select siblings who were normal people.    
And he saw immediately that his question hit a spot with how she looked away.    
  
Dana knew she shouldn’t complain, that she was at fault for how she got along with them.    
But the lure of a friend was strong, someone who would listen. She had always wanted a friend… 

“I.. they’re probably nice. I just find it hard to talk to them.”    
  
There was also the fact that she woke them up a few times, but she didn’t divulge that to the ghoul. She was weird enough as is.   
  
Mountain peered down at her, suspecting there was more but letting it slide. She was opening up at all, which he figured wasn’t that easy for her.    
It didn’t happen often but he felt the urge of taking this human under his wing.    
Getting Imperator to let her work with him was the first step. He stood again, motioning for her to follow him.    
Imperator’s office wasn’t far, and once there, Dana let Mountain do the talking, standing a half step behind him.    
Sister Imperator was all for the idea, having wondered herself what job she’d assign to the young girl. She was glad that Dana seemed to have lost some of her fear for the ghouls, but she knew Mountain was also very easy going which only helped. 

“Then you will start working in the gardens. Stick to Mountain, he’ll show you everything. Our earth ghouls are in charge of the grounds, so you will be meeting quite a few of them.”    
  
The prospect of having something to do every day and getting to know Mountain better made a happy smile spread on Dana’s face.    
“Thank you, Sister. I’ll work hard.”    
  
“I know you will, dear. Now get, I have work to do!”   
  


* * *

  
  


The next two weeks brought a marked change in Dana. She was happier, now that she could work in the gardens again and she started to open up more and more to Mountain. 

The tall ghoul was surprised, honestly, at how she took to the work.    
It seemed like Dana could get anything to grow and when she worked with the plants there was a quiet confidence in her that she didn’t usually have.    
Winter was upon them and they had to start getting the plants ready for the first frost.    
  
Dana was happily chattering on about the plants she was tending to, something that happened more and more often to Mountain’s delight, and they worked together very well.    
  
“So, you wanna come watch a movie with me after we finish this up? We hang out here all the time, after all.”    
  
That shut her up for a second. Dana really liked hanging out with Mountain. She finally felt like she had a real friend. But this would mean potentially running into his bandmates. They still made Dana feel very shy and out of place. But she really wanted to hang out with her friend.    
  
“Yes, I’d like that.”    
  
He grinned back at her little smile that he had gotten used to. This would be good for her. He knew some of the others would be there and they’d just have a chill evening.    
Together, they finished their work quickly and by the time it got dark, they headed inside to clean up.    
Dana was quick to shower as usual and put on some of her more comfortable clothes before slowly walking down to the ghoul quarters. She kept her eyes trained to the ground the whole way.    
In the past weeks she had gotten used to the ghouls, they weren’t as scary to her any more, but strangers still were.    
She stopped at the door to the lounge, gently knocking on the frame to get Mountain’s attention. He was sprawled out on the sofa, beer in one hand and remote in the other and looked up at the soft rapping on wood.    
  
“Hey you,” he grinned up at her, jerking his head to the space next to him.   
“Come, sit. You want something to drink?”   
  
She shook her head and sat down gingerly. They were still alone in the lounge, so she could relax into the cushions. Dana looked at the ghoul expectantly, not knowing what he had planned for them. 

  
  
“What are we going to watch? We got plenty of Dvds, but there is a Halloween Marathon on TV. Don’t ask me why, Halloween is over, but that's just TV for ya, I suppose.”   
  


“I never got to watch Horror movies, I kinda want to see one.”    
  
“Right on, it starts in a few minutes. Oh, hey guys.”    
  
Dana looked up to see Aether and another ghoul walk into the lounge. They sat down and Dana felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach.   
She’d seen the other ghoul around, often with the Cardinal and quietly greeted the two.    
  
“Hey, I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Julian.”    
  
“Hey. I’m Dana. Nice to meet you. Uhm.. we were gonna watch a movie. Do you.. You want to join us?”    
  
That earned her a proud smile from Mountain, who was glad she was leaving her shyness behind a bit. The newcomers agreed readily and Aether went over to the kitchen area while Julian let himself fall onto the sofa beside Dana.    
She carefully shifted a bit closer to Mountain, because she knew him and he was her security right now.    
  
The larger newcomer, Aether, came back, passing Julian a bottle of beer and then popping one open with his claws and gave it to Dana.    
Dana had never actually had beer before, and wasn’t sure she wanted one, but it was impolite to decline, so she took the bottle and sipped at it.    
It was bubbly and slightly bitter, and the ghouls chuckled when she shook herself. 

“You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it,” Mountain told her, but she didn’t mind the taste to be honest.    
Before she could tell him however, the movie started.    
  
Dana was hooked from the beginning. The music and cinematography were absolutely wonderful and she found herself enjoying the tension it created in her.    
Her eyes were trained on the screen and she didn’t even notice the ghouls watching her from time to time. When the first movie ended, Dana was practically vibrating in excitement.    
  
“Oh that was fantastic! There’s another one on?”    
  
“Yeah, it’s the second one. Gonna start after a commercial. You want another beer?”    
  
Dana had barely noticed that she had finished her first beer, but she wasn't opposed to a second. This time Julian went and got another round for all of them, and once more the bottle was opened for Dana. She stared at Julian’s clawed hands for a few seconds before she plucked up the courage to look at him.

"Is it difficult with the claws? How do you not shred everything you touch?"   
  
Julian looked down at his hands and then shrugged.   
  
“A lot of it is practice, to be honest. In the beginning, I scratched up a lot of things. You just need to learn to be careful.”    
  
“Yeah, anything delicate, like playing guitar or something, that’s a real chore,” Aether threw in from the other side of the sofa.    
“I’ve busted so many guitars before I learned to be careful with them.” 

That made sense to Dana. She couldn’t imagine having to be so careful with everything, seeing how she was a bit clumsy. But what Aether said brought another question to her mind.    
Aether was more imposing than Julian or Mountain though, so it took her a moment longer to get it out.   
  
“Is it fun? To be in the band? Or is it just like another job?”   
  
“It’s.. sometimes long ass rehearsals feel like a real chore, but all that doesn’t matter once you stand on that stage. People screaming your name, singing along to the songs.. It’s intoxicating.”    
  
“Yeah, that’s true. I fill in for Dew at some shows and it’s magical. The energy is incredible.” Julian got excited just talking about it. Being part of the band was such an important part of his life now, and he couldn’t imagine being without it any more. 

Dana listened to them with wide eyes. That sounded wonderful and terrifying at the same time. Having all those people look at her, but look at her with adoration.. It Was a paradox to her.    
She didn't understand how they didn’t pass out on stage. 

Mountain seemed to read her mind.    
  
“It’s honestly crazy. Once you’re there, with the lights and all, you barely notice the crowd. You just feel the energy. It’s like a 3 hour adrenaline rush.”    
  
She sipped on her beer and thought about his words for a moment. She couldn’t imagine that you could just forget a bunch of screaming people.    
  
“I would like to see a show some time. Do you play here at the convent as well?”   
  
  
“We’ve never played here before but it might be time. But you’re always welcome to stop by the rehearsals, if you’d like to hear some music.”    
  
  
Aether did not at all mind if she were to come by and watch them play. The girl was a bit shy, yes, but she seemed really nice to him.    
Mountain hushed them all when the second movie started, and Dana was once again drawn into the world of Halloween.   
  
She was more talkative this time around however, commenting on how she loved the mask and the whole idea behind this pursuit predator on TV.    
Mountain was so glad she was having fun, secretly relieved how well she got along with his friends.    
He figured the beer probably helped loosen her up, but she needed it. Outside of tending for the plants, Dana was always so jumpy and tense. To just have a night to relax would be good for her.    
Once the second movie was over and the credits rolled, Dana was lounged comfortably into the sofa cushions, having a good time.    
She was surprised herself, but she decided not to question it.    
Instead she listened to the ghouls joke around, and she found her cheeks were hurting with how much she was smiling.    
Currently Julian was telling a story about him and Dew having a face off with the guitars on time, and Dana made up her mind to watch them rehearse. She wanted to see them all in action, even if that meant meeting even more new people.    
  
These ghouls were far nicer to her than the Sisters in her room, and Dana didn’t really want to go back to her dorm.    
But may it be the beers, or the nerves she had earlier, hell if she knew; all she knew was that she was starting to doze off. There was no way for her to hide that either, nursing her empty bottle and trying to pay attention to what was being said.    
When the bottle fell for the second time, Aether smiled at her gently and stood. 

“Come on, I’ll take you to your room. You’re falling asleep on us here.”    
  
Dana didn’t want to, but she supposed she couldn’t just crash on their sofa, so she got up as well, bidding good night to Mountain and Julian.    
She followed the large ghoul of the lounge, tiredness and alcohol making her sway slightly.    
  
“I hope you had fun tonight. You’re always welcome to hang out with us if you want to.”    
  
“Thank you.. I really appreciate that. I.. I was a bit scared earlier, but I had a great time.”   
  
It was incredible how easy that was to get out, and Dana grinned in spite of herself.    
The way to her room was short, and the girl could feel the apprehension creeping back to her but was determined not to show it.    
At the door, Aether turned to the girl and smiled down at her.    
  
“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Good night, Dana. I’ll see you around okay?”    
  
She bid him a good night and watched him walk away. Dana quietly let herself into her room, ignoring the sisters who were still up and gossiping, and quickly went to change.    
Done in record time, she hid under her covers to drown out her roommates and thought about the evening happily.

Tonight was the first time she felt like she’d really, really had friends. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features a wonderful ghoul named Julian, who is my boyfriend'S oc. You can find him and his wonderful art on twitter @Stardust_Ghoul


	3. Chapter 3 - A special gift

Winter had snuck up on the convent. It just started snowing late one night and the next morning they were covered in a soft white blanket.    
Dana loved taking walks in the snow, huddled into her long coat, just looking at her plants and flowers covered in the white powder.    
They only had to tend to the evergreens occasionally, so beside her walks, Dana had taken up to burying herself in the library. She had mainly read story books when she was younger, sometimes going as far as reading a dictionary when she was especially bored.    
Here she started reading about history and the origins of satanism and it was absolutely fascinating to her.    
  
Dana had learned that the convent didn’t celebrate Christms, for obvious reasons, but they did celebrate the pagan Yulefest. Soon, the convent would be readied for the festivities, and she could already feel the excitement of the siblings.    
Gifts were given to friends and Dana wandered the grounds, wondering what she would get Mountain.    
She felt like she should give something to all the ghouls, seeing how the band had taken her under their collective wing. She was still shy around them, but it was getting easier.    
Gradually, she had been introduced to the entire band and they all did their best to make her feel welcome.    
To everyone’s surprise, she had taken very quickly to Dewdrop. Even at their first meeting, he’d been very high energy, something which they thought would intimidate Dana.    
But, for some reason, they had hit it off immediately.    
Which again brought her to the problem that she had friends now and no clue what to get them.    
It had her so deep in thought that she didn’t notice the small group of people behind her.    
No, she didn’t notice until something cold and wet hit her in the back of the head.    
She whirled around, seeing her roommates. Agnes was front and center, dusting snow off her gloves.    
Dana wanted to disappear into the snow, right now. At first her roommates had mainly ignored her, but ever since the ghouls had taken an interest in her, they had gotten nasty.   
This jealousy was something the blonde girl didn’t understand. Sure, she had no idea why the band liked her in the first place, but it wasn’t like she’d asked for their attention.    
  
Agnes didn’t seem to care about that, however. Enamoured with the band, like so many siblings, she felt that this newcomer didn’t deserve to be ingrained with them. Not when she had tried to catch their attention so desperately.    
  
“If it isn’t Ms. Prissy. What are you doing out here, loser?”   
  
Dana’s teeth ground together, wanting nothing more than to be left alone. She just didn’t understand why Agness hated her so much. She was always polite to them, always tried to be friendly, but they just didn’t like her.    
  
“I’m just walking. The grounds look nice with the snow…” She tried to keep looking at the girls, she really did, but soon she cast her gaze to the ground. Dana couldn’t help it, there was always a pit of fear bubbling in her stomach lately when Agnes deigned to turn her attention on the girl.    
  
“Satan below, how could anyone ever waste time on a nobody like you I will never understand. You shouldn’t even be here you little freak.”    
  
Tears welled up in Dana’s eyes, though she tried to fight them down. She hated confrontation and she had no clue what to say to the Sisters to get them to leave her alone.    
Her silence only egged the girls on, spiteful eyes boring into her.    
  
“Yeah that’s what I thought..” Agnes seemed to get bored with her, probably just wanting to get out of the cold.   
“Go run off, like you always do. Hope you fucking freeze.”    
  
They left her in the snow, laughing derisively at her flushed face and the hot tears running down her cheeks. Only when they were gone did she let herself cry freely.    
She wanted so bad to stand up to them, wanted to tell them to leave her alone, but she never managed. She stomped off through the snow, incredibly mad at herself, toward a snowed in lavender patch she liked a lot, hoping it would calm her down. She furiously wiped away her tears, but it wouldn’t work.    
  
She just had to get through the day, Dana told herself. Just breathe and calm down. Again, she did not notice someone approach her and flinched violently when her name was called.    
  
“Hey, calm down. Sorry I scared you. Are you okay?”    
  
Julian was standing behind her and Dana tried to pull herself together. The ghoul looked at her with worry and she tried to smile at him. No way in hell would she tell anyone what just happened.    
  
“I’m okay, you just startled me is all.”    
  
“Yeah, but I’ve done that plenty of times and you never started crying. What happened?”    
  
For just a split second she really considered telling Julian what was happening and how much she suffered from the girls. But then she decided against it. That wasn’t his problem and she didn’t want to bother him with it.    
  
“I’m okay, really. Just got really sad. I’ll be okay.”    
  
Julian was not convinced. He didn’t buy the small smile, not with her eyes all red and puffy like that. He pulled her over to a stone bench, sweeping the snow off it with his tail and sat down.    
  
“Dana, you can tell me. You are not okay, let me help you.”    
  
She sat on the cold stone, staring at her hands for a good 5 minutes. Julian didn’t push her, just looked at her attentively. He could see how hard she tried to calm herself down, but she hiccuped and her shoulders still shook.    
It was so hard not to talk about it when Julian acted like this. Like he really cared. 

“It.. It’s Agnes and Lilah and Nora. They’re just.. so mean and I don’t know why.” 

  
She looked up at him miserably, waiting for something to tell her that she shouldn’t have said anything. Nothing good ever came from her talking about something that upset her.    
Julian had suspected for a while that she was having problems with her roommates. She was tired a lot, like she hadn’t been getting enough sleep, and she shut herself in the library until they kicked her out at night, Swiss had told him that much.    
  
“What are they doing? And how long has it been going on?”

“In the beginning they just ignored me. Like, they didn’t talk to me but they left me alone. And a few weeks ago they just.. They hide my things and call me names. I have no idea why.. I tried to be nice to them, but they just hate me.” 

She didn’t tell him everything, about how they dumped water on her to wake her up sometimes, or how Agnes threw a hissy fit whenever Dana had a nightmare, but that was the gist of it.    
Dana was used to this treatment and it shouldn’t bother her as much as it did.    
But coming here.. Oh, she had known all along that it wouldn’t change anything.    
The ghouls, they were just a fluke, they just didn’t see it yet. She was just unlikable.    
  


“That is absolutely disgusting.” Julian seemed angry on her behalf, which surprised the girl.    
“Dana, you should have come to us. You don’t have to deal with this shit on your own, you know.”    
  
Dana looked at him and clearly didn’t understand and that’s when some things clicked into place for the young ghoul. She was used to this treatment. She was used to being bullied and abused.    
His heart went out to her.    
  
“Come on. You’re coming to the lounge with me and we’re just going to relax.”    
  
He stood and offered the girl his hand. Dana reached out carefully, in measured movements, not quite trusting the support she was being offered. But she followed him inside gladly, too worn out to argue.    
She was on autopilot when they walked inside, not looking at anyone but just following Julian downstairs to the ghoul’s quarters. He took her coat when they got and hung it over a chair along with his to dry out and Dana collapsed into the sofa.    
Julian settled comfortably beside her, and switched on the TV to just have music videos run in the background.    
He just let her rest for a few minutes, but then got her attention.    
  
“Dana… I really think someone should know about this. I want to talk to Copia about your roommates.”    
  
“What?!” She shot up, a panicked look in her eyes. If she told on them, they would just get so much worse. She just suffered these things in silence, like she always did.    
“Julian, you can’t. They’ll be so mad if they get into trouble.”    
  
“They deserve it. But I can talk to Vin. He’ll find a way to help without making it worse. I promise. But you can’t keep going like this. You can’t let those bitches wear you out.”    
  
Dana was afraid of someone knowing. No one was allowed to know. It only led to problems. But she was so tired and out of options.    
  
“Only him? And he won’t make it worse? Promise?” 

“I promise. I won’t tell anyone else. We’ll get this sorted out, okay.”    
  
Dana could have cried again. Nobody had ever offered to help her ever. She tried to relax, which would normally have been impossible, but she was so exhausted.    
After a few minutes of companionable silence, he looked over at the girl and saw that she fell asleep. Poor thing must have not slept in a while. He carefully tucked a blanket around her and made up his mind. He’d speak to his mate right now.    
He was so quiet and gentle in his movements until he closed the lounge door behind him.    
Then he started stomping up the stairs to his and Copia’s rooms.    
  
“Vin, I need to talk to you,” he announced as he burst through the door.    
  
Copia, used to Julian’s theatrics, simply looked up from his paperwork with a cocked brow.    
  
“What has gotten you all riled up, Topolino?”   
  
Whatever it was,it had Julian mad. He stepped over to the sofa, motioning for Julian to join him.    
Once they were comfortably settled, Julian resting against Copia, he took a deep breath of his mate’s scent and smiled.    
  
“Allora. What happened?”   
  
Julian huffed, however Copia’s presence had already calmed him down. 

Part of him wanted to stay angry, but the sad was taking over.   
  
“It’s Dana. I ran into her today in the gardens today, crying. She wanted to pretend it was nothing, but after some coaxing, I found out her roommates are bullying her.” He sighed, snuggling into his mate’s side.   
“It’s more than bullying I think. They’re cruel to her, take her things.. And the worst part is that she thinks it’s normal. Vin.. I think she’s been abused. She doesn’t understand that she doesn’t have to put up with this. They are wearing her down and she needs help. I think.. She’s a lot like me when I came here. She flinches at loud voices, she doesn’t look people in the eyes. I.. She’s my friend and I want to help her.” 

Copia stayed quiet for a few minutes. Behaviour like this, it disgusted him.    
Siblings were encouraged to solve their own problems, but if a sibling was targeted specifically… That’s where the officials got involved.    
And Julian had an eye for these behavioural patterns, having experienced them himself. 

“I don’t think I have seen her around much. Probably exactly why. But that is not alright. Don’t worry, Topolino, I will take care of this.”    
  
“Thank you. Dana doesn’t want anyone to know, so I trust your discretion.”    
  
“I will have to speak to the Second about this,” Copia told Julian, squeezing his shoulders.    
“Due to the nature of her coming to convent, that contract, she is his responsibility and he, at the very least, has to know. But I am certain we will find a solution for this.”    
  
That sated Julian. Even if Dana weren’t his friend, he hated all kinds of bullying and didn’t stand to see it continue. Which also made him get up from his comfortable spot on the sofa. 

“I should probably go back. I left Dana asleep on the couch and she might freak out if she wakes up alone. Honestly, I might consider just staying in the lounge with her tonight. She needs some uninterrupted sleep.”    
  


“Well in that case, I know where to find you should you not come back tonight. Go take care of her. I shall speak to Lorenzo.” 

  
Julian smiled at his mate, giving him a kiss before he turned to leave. Vincenzo would handle this, he was certain of that.    
He quickly made his way back to the lounge. To his delight, none of the other ghouls had made their way down there yet and Dana was still curled up against the cushions.    
He settled beside her and watched some TV, careful to keep it quiet. He wanted to tell Dana that her problem would be taken care of, but he also wanted to let her rest for a while longer.   
  
A few floors above them, Copia stayed true to his word. The Second was a bit intimidating even to him, but the welfare of their siblings was more important.    
Being called in after he rapped his knuckles on the wood, the Cardinal saw Papa behind a stack of paperwork.    
  
“Copia. What can I do for you?”    
  
The second had forgone his skull paint today, which made his face easier to read, and he looked at his visitor inquisitively. He motioned to the chair before his desk and Copia sat. 

“Papa, it has been brought to my attention that our newest sister has been having some problems with her roommates. More than she can handle on her own.”   
  
Papa put his paperwork aside and turned his full attention to the Cardinal. He had been very busy these past few weeks, and had not had the time to meet with his charge.    
He had wanted to, for a lot of the Fitzroy girls over the years had an aptitude for at least some kind of magic, and he was certain that Dana was no exception.    
He simply had had too much to do.    
  
“What kind of problems? Did she come to you with them?”   
  
“No,” Copia admitted.   
“Julian found her crying in the gardens and made her tell him. It seems like the girls have started targeting her for no reason, and Dana is too meek to defend herself against them. Also, you should know.. Julian suspects she has dealt with abuse before. She shows certain behaviour that speaks for it.” 

Papa sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He should have paid better attention. He had dealt with Dana’s family before, not often, but he knew them and he could see that being true.    
  
“If she cannot handle her roommates, then something will have to be done, you’re right. What do you suggest?” 

The second hated people, and he was glad to be left alone, but he did care for the wellbeing of the siblings in his convent. He wanted them happy and prospering. But with so many people housed together, hostilities were unavoidable.    
  
“She definitely needs to be housed somewhere else. She spends time with the ghouls a lot and has some peace in their lounge. I feel if she had somewhere to close the door on the word she might be happier.”    
  
“There are some unused rooms in the ghoul quarters, no? If she has found friends there, it might be best to move her down there.” The ghouls had single rooms, though not everyone used them. They were small, and cold, but it would be the easiest solution right now.   
“Either way, she needs to learn to stand up for herself. I’ll have to meet with her.”    
  
Copia nodded. He could understand the responsibility the Second felt. It was the same for him with Julian. It would be good for Dana to know someone with authority cared.    
They spoke for a while longer, and Copia suggested giving Dana the new room for Yule.    
With just two weeks to go, that would leave enough time to make it liveable and decorate it, and the Second agreed. It would serve as a lesson to her roommates as well.    
Only senior members of the clergy were granted their own rooms, and they would no doubt be jealous. But this would be a good lesson for the frail girl, that she must not let others' opinion affect her at all. 

* * *

  
  


Not long after Copia left the Second's office, Dew, Swiss and Aether filed into their lounge, only to immediately be shushed by Julian. Dew made an indignant noise but then spotted the sleeping girl on the sofa. They quietly sat down, but the second the small fire ghoul sat next to her, Dana jerked awake. 

"Aww shit, sorry Dana, I didn't want to wake you." 

  
  


"S'okay," she mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. They were still red-rimmed but not as bad as earlier. She looked to Julian who gave her a curt nod. Once again Dana felt the nerves. She didn’t know what the Cardinal was going to do, or even if he could do something.    
But it was already growing late, dinner would be soon, and then, eventually she would have to go back.    
  
A deep frown formed on her face, and Julian noticed.    
  
“How about a sleepover? We haven’t done one in a while,” Julian asked the others. Dana looked perplexed, but the ghouls happily agreed. Dew was already bouncy at the prospect.    
  
“Oh, you definitely gotta join us, Dana. We watch movies, eat junk food all night and just all sleep in the lounge. It’s a really fun time.”    
  
Dana smiled widely. She wouldn’t have to sleep in her dorm after all! For tonight, she’d have peace.    
  
“That’s settled then. Swiss, help me get the blankets and shit, Dew get food, and you two can have a look at the movies we wanna watch. Anything goes.”    
  
With a flurry of movement, everyone was gone, leaving a bemused Dana behind to look at Julian and tell him a quiet thank you. He simply squeezed her shoulder and pulled her to the side board that held all their DVDs and they had a great time choosing mostly comedies to watch. Dana needed a laugh tonight.    
  
After some time, Aether and Swiss walked back in, ladden with blankets and pillows so high Dana wondered how they could see anything. They dumped everything in the space in front of the sofa and Dana watched them arrange everything. It looked like a nest when they were done and she had to laugh. 

Aether grinned up at her and wrapped his tail around her leg, gently yanking her to land on a pillow with a soft thud.   
  
“You’re part of the pile now. No hiding on the couch.”    
  
Dana couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to feel wanted and included. And she was better with touching the ghouls, now that she knew them better. Shortly afterwards, Dew came back, a huge bag in hand and the other ghouls in tow.    
Dew had brought a real motherlode of snacks, chips, candy, fizzy drinks. Dana happily accepted a coke and settled down between Aether and Mountain.    
Soon everyone was truly nestled into a big pile. Dew was curled up on Swiss’ lap, the ghoulettes were tangled around each other and Julian was settled against Mountain with Rain draped over their legs.    
It was cozy and they started their first movie, Cheaper by the Dozen. It was a cheesy family comedy but Dana liked it a lot. 

They spent the evening laughing and snacking, telling jokes and just having a good time. Even Dana was loosening up, enjoying the presence of her friends. But around the fifth movie, everyone was starting to show signs of fatigue. Everyone was laying to some degree. Rain was softly snoring on Mountain’s legs, having dropped first, but Dana was not far behind, curled up between the two largest ghouls.    
She did sleep better than most nights, but at some point, she started fidgeting, caught in the throws of a nightmare.    
She shot upright, drenched in cold sweat and immediately bit her hand to stifle the need to scream.   
Woken by the sudden movement, Aether looked around confused. There was some moonlight filtering in and he saw Dana, eyes wide and biting into her palm.    
  
“Hey, are you okay? What happened?”   
  
He sat up, careful not to disturb Cirrus who was lying behind him. The blonde girl looked absolutely terrified. And she didn’t answer him, not trusting herself not to burst into tears.    
Aether gently reached up and took her hand. He could feel the bite marks she gave herself and frowned.    
  
“Hey, Dana it’s okay. Just a nightmare. Want to talk about it?” 

She shook her head. She couldn’t talk about it, couldn’t put what she saw into words, even if she wanted to.    
Dana didn’t know what to do, this was all new to her. She simply sat there and shivered.    
Oh a whim, Aether reached out to her and pulled her closer to him. She stiffened at the touch, but forced herself to calm down. None of the ghouls had ever tried to hurt her, why would they start now?    
She let herself relax, hiding her face in his chest. This was the first time ever she had someone comfort her after a nightmare and she found that she craved that comfort.    
Aether just sat there and held her, whispering to her to calm her down.    
He didn’t ask what she dreamt about again, not wanting to push her to reveal it.    
Dana was very much a riddle to him, but for the time being, he left her be and just held her.    
It took a very long time for Dana to calm down.    
  
“M’sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”    
  
“Hey, it’s okay. I don’t mind, I’d rather be up with you than you having to deal with this alone.”    
  
He ran his hand over her back in comforting circles. Dana was still so tired, a few minutes of this were enough to lull her back to sleep. The large ghoul laid back down, pulling Dana down beside him and she curled up, hand tangling in his shirt. He kept his arm securely curled around her, laying awake for quite a while.    
Whatever the hell she had dreamt, it upset her something fierce and Aether didn’t like seeing her like that.    
He had nightmares sometimes, but never to the point that she seemed to and he felt pity for the girl curled up in his arm.    
He fell asleep after an hour or so of watching Dana, making sure she was alright. 

None of them woke up till around noon the next day, and even when everyone was up, no one really made a move to get up yet. They simply lounged around, waiting for lunch time to go get some food.    
Dana was happy, although she felt some embarrassment at last night. But thankfully Aether didn’t bring up. The friends spent all day together, and by the time evening came, Dana felt calm enough to face her roommates again.

* * *

  
The next two weeks, those girls were not pleasant, but Dana fled their presence whenever she could. It was easier to ignore Agnes and the others when she knew that she could spend her evenings down in the ghoul lounge and escape.    
  
And she finally knew what she wanted to give her friends.    
She gave them her thoughts. For the next two weeks, she spent a few hours each day in the library, finding a quote that suited them all and writing down how much it meant to her that they liked her.    
  
She thought carefully about every word, writing in her prettiest script, and she really tried to make every letter individual.    
Dana hoped they wouldn’t be too upset. She had nothing else to give, and she felt like this wasn’t enough, but it was better than nothing. 

Meanwhile, Julian was on his own mission for Yule.    
Copia had recruited his help in decorating Dana’s new room, and he kept asking her innocuous questions about her favourite colour and style. Thank heavens Dana was oblivious to his intent and he and the Cardinal spent their time buying furniture and items to make the room homey. Julian was glad that Dana would have her own room soon and he loved the fact that she would get it as a present.    
  
On the day the Yule festivities would begin, Dana was called to the Second’s office. She was nervously standing in front of his door, waiting to be called in. She hadn’t really seen him around since her initiation and now the girl had no clue what he wanted with her.   
After she was called in, Dana stood in front of his desk, hands clasped and tense, and stared at a golden grucifix letterweight.    
She felt like she’d done something wrong and was racking her brain to figure out what it was.

“You are not in trouble, Dana. Sit down.”    
  
She blushed at being read that easily, but did as she was told. There was still some nervousness, but for some reason she found it simple to calm in the Papa’s presence.    
Everyone was afraid of him to some degree, she knew that much, but he seemed secure to her.    
  
“How have you been settling in? My apologies that I didn’t summon you earlier, as you can imagine, I am quite busy.”    
  
“Uhm.. I really like it here,” she told him quietly, peeking up to look into those mismatched eyes.    
“The convent is really pretty, and the ghouls are very nice”    
  
“Yes, I had heard you made friends with the band. But I also heard you had some problems as well.”    
  
Dana froze. She realised that Copia must have spoken with the Second, and for a hot minute she felt a sense of betrayal. But he seemed to have kept his word otherwise, since her roommates hadn’t been worse than usual. Dana steeled her resolve and looked up at the Papa.    
  
“I… Yes, I have. But it’s okay, I try to keep away from them.”   
  
“You shouldn’t have to. Here, we usually let the siblings handle this himself, but in this case, the Cardinal and I have come up with a solution for you. It is very clear that you have been targeted out of some pettiness, and I am not about to let it continue. Now, follow me.”    
  
He led a very confused Dana out of his office and through the halls. She had to jog slightly to keep up with his long strides.    
Strangely enough, Papa headed down to the ghoul quarters. She almost stopped at the lounge as if on autopilot, but he walked further down the hall. When he stopped at a door down the hall, Dana was intrigued.    
  
“Well? Go on.” The Second looked like he almost wanted to smile at her confused face.    
  
Slowly, Dana opened the door and walked inside. To her surprise, Julian and the Cardinal were there, looking at her expectantly.    
  
“What.. what is this?”    
  
“Your new room!” Julian burst out, not able to contain himself. Dana stared at him in shocked silence. This could not be real.    
She looked around with wide eyes.    
The room wasn’t very big, but that didn’t matter. The furniture was painted white, making the small space look a lot airier and bigger.    
The fourposter had light grey hangings, and a grey rug covered a large part of the stone floor. It was a minimalistic room, with some grey, white and gold decoration to it.    
It was beautiful. And hers.   
  
“This is.. for me?” She asked them with disbelief. Dana looked completely stunned and the Cardinal smiled down at her from his spot by the desk under the window.    
  
“Si. Dana, this place.. A lot of people come here to start over. To be happy. And that is important to us. Julian let us know you weren’t happy. So, we fix that. Simple, no?”    
  
Dana could have cried. This was hers. Her refuge, her own space to be and to be left alone if she wanted to. This was the greatest gift she had ever gotten.    
  
“But.. Why? I don’t understand.”    
  
“It’s like the Cardinal said, Dana. You weren’t happy. And you are my responsibility, so this could not go on.”    
  
Dana cocked an eyebrow at him, prompting the Second to explain further.    
  
“While I don’t consider it ownership, since you can’t own a human, that’s basically what the contract with your family entails. The girls that get given to the convent belong to me. That’s the basis of it. Now, again. I don’t consider you my property, that is just a vile and archaic mindset. But it does make me responsible for your wellbeing. We should have had this talk a long time ago and from now on, when you are faced with a problem you don’t feel capable of handling, you come to me, understand?”    
  
These were almost too many revelations for Dana to handle.    
She had never been told the full extent of why she had to leave home, just knowing it would happen since she was old enough to remember.    
Never questioning it, she now realised that she had always been a pawn to give away for her family's purposes. It should have hurt. But Dana already knew they didn’t care.    
But here, they did. The way they looked at her, the way they had gone out of their way to make this surprise for her. Here they cared.   
  
They could see Dana was a bit overwhelmed right now.    
Seeing that this simple gesture had such an impact on the girl, the Second realised the truth of what the Cardinal had said 2 weeks ago. He decided it was time to dig around in Dana’s past and make some inquiries. But it was nothing she needed to know about right now.    
  
“I think it’s time to take our leave now, Cardinal. Julian, I trust you will help Dana get settled in.”    
  
Julian knew this wasn’t a request, but nodded nonetheless. Dana would have to get her clothes and other things and she didn’t want her alone with those harpies she shared a room with.   
After the two officials left, he watched Dana wander around the room a bit more. She stopped at the bed. It was wonderful. A dark grey duvet lay upon it. Dana ran her hands over the soft linen. It had white spatters across it, making it look like it was dusted in snow.    
She couldn’t wait until tonight, when she could close the hangings and go to sleep, knowing she could just rest undisturbed.    
  
  
After a few moments however Julian cleared his throat, getting the girl’s attention.    
He wanted to get her move over with sooner rather than later, so that they could put this behind them.   
  
“Come on, let's liberate your stuff from the bitches. You need to get settled in.”    
  
Dana agreed. With the prospect of having her own room, her roommates didn’t seem so scary any more.    
She linked her arm through Julian’s offered one and together they made their way to the upper levels where the younger siblings slept.    
Julian didn’t bother knocking, simply barged into the room, making Agnes jump.    
She was alone in the dorm, and when she saw Dana, her gaze turned hard.    
  
“Save it,” Julian spat at her.   
“Dana get your suitcase and start packing.”    
  
“They finally come to their senses and chuck you out, freak,” Agnes sneered, watching Dana root through their shared closet for her bag.    
“Good riddance. You don’t belong here.”    
  
Julian had enough. He saw how tense Dana’s shoulders were. She needed to learn to stand up for herself, but now he just wanted to lash out.    
  
“You can just go take that mouth of yours and suck an exhaust pipe. We all know you’re just fucking jealous because you can’t fucking suck up to the band. I’ve seen how you look at Swiss and Aether and Dew. Newsflash, bitch, we don’t like assholes.”    
  
Dana had her back turned but a small smile tugged at her lips listening to Julian blow up on her tormentor. And it made things click into place for her. Agnes was jealous? Dana hadn’t realised that was the bone of contempt between them.    
It was not her fault the ghouls liked her, she had done nothing to attract their attention. Mountain had simply found her and things had taken off from there.    
  
“If you were nicer, people would like you too,” Dana said quietly, folding her clothes into the suitcase. It was not the snappiest thing to say, but she felt a quiet pride at herself for getting out even that much.    
She didn’t like Agness any better after that revelation, but she felt pity for the sister. Only the slightest amount though. If this was how she chose to vent about not getting what she wanted, then there was no hope left for her.    
  
“And just for your information, you jealous slag,” Julian smiled widely at the speechless sister, “Dana isn’t leaving, she’s got her own room down in the ghoul quarters. Cause we like Dana and want her around.”    
  
Agnes’ face flushed red in her anger but she didn’t know how to respond. Not only did Julian not take her bullshit, but he was also the mate of a senior clergy member and she could easily get in trouble for mouthing off to him.    
While her and Julian were having a staring contest, Dana packed her last few belongings into her suitcase. She didn’t have too much.    
  
“I’m ready.”    
  
“Good, I can’t stand the stank in here.”    
  
He grabbed Dana’s suitcase and waited for her to leave the dorm, throwing a last glare at Agnes before he let the door slam shut.    
They were silent until they made it down to the ghoul level, and only then did Dana grin up at them and comment.    
  
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her speechless. Like, ever. That was absolutely beautiful.”    
  
  
“Well, that bitch deserved what she got. The nerve, talking to you like that. She deserved it. And good for you for saying something. We need to get some curses in there next time, but it was a good start.”    
  
Dana blushed but she had to laugh. She couldn’t even imagine herself cursing at someone.    
Once they were finally back in her room, Julian helped her unpack her clothes, silently appalled at the state of her wardrobe. It was all old, out of style, and the stuff looked mended 5 times over.    
He’d get the ghoulettes to get together with him and give Dana a few clothes for Yule. No wonder she always wore the habit.    
  
But that wasn’t important right now. He noted she had only clothes and some basic toiletries, but then, to his surprise, there was a plush at the bottom of the case.    
Dana picked it up gingerly and placed him on the pillow of her bed. It was a medium sized fox, just the right size to hug to death, which it definitely looked like it was.    
  
“Now you can be out safely as well, Ferox.” She felt Julian look at her and gave him an uncomplicated smile.    
  
“He was a gift from my older brother. I’ve had him since I was very small.”    
  
“You have a brother?”    
  
“Mhm, two. Henry and Maxwell. But Maxie is only 4. And a sister, Rosalynn.”    
  
“How are they?”    
  
Dana carefully pushed her suitcase under the bed, and sat on the duvet, sliding all the way to the headboard, hugging her plush close.    
  
“Henry was often away with father, learning how to take over his business and I watched Maxi a lot and played with him. Rosa… We had issues.”    
  
Her eyes darkened, and Julian didn’t push it. She had opened up at all and that mattered. 

They spent some more time chatting, but before long, Julian took his leave to let Dana explore her new room.    
  
Before she did that however, she sat at the desk and wrote each ghouls name onto an envelope in her neat flowing script. She just needed to find a way to give it to them.    
  
But for now… She locked the door to her room, headed to bed and pulled the curtains closed. She’d miss dinner, but Dana didn’t care. For the first time in her life, something was hers and only hers.    
She lay in bed, hugged her plush and grinned from ear to ear.


	4. Chapter 4 - Yule

Over the next few days, her friends saw a major change in Dana. She finally got enough rest and was less pale and more animated. Not being under the constant scrutiny of her roommates also seemed to make her a bit more confident. She divided her time between relishing her solitude in her room and spending time in the lounge with her friends.    
Dew joked they would have to pry her out of her room with a crowbar but Dana just laughed at him.    
  
Tomorrow would be the big Yule fest and Dana was excited. The entire convent was decorated in evergreens and sparkles and smelt absolutely divine.    
It was late at night and Dana was sneaking through the halls. She wanted to leave her letters for her friends in the lounge, so they could find them tomorrow.    
Every envelope was decorated with a little wintery sketch, as well as a name in fancy script. There was a moment of doubt when she set them down on the low table but she waved it away.    
  
Dew almost gave her a heart attack when he suddenly said her name behind her.    
The lounge was dark and she hadn’t noticed him at all, and the small fire ghoul had kept quiet, curious as to what she was doing.    
  
“Dew what the hell… What are you even doing here?”    
  
“Could ask you the same thing, sneaking around in the middle of the night.”    
  
He shot her a grin and Dana couldn’t help but smile back. She sat down on the sofa with him, tucking her knees under her chin.    
  
“It’s just some gifts. Nothing special.”    
  
“Oooh, gifts! Lemme see!”   
  
He made a grab for the envelopes, riffling through until he found the one with his name on it. There were delicate snowflakes all over the paper, and he smiled at the letter in his hand.    
After asking if she minded, he carefully opened the sealed envelope and slipped the piece of paper out of it.    
The room was dimly lit, but he could still read it easily. In her letter, Dana wrote about how much she appreciated his energy and openness and how it made her feel immediately accepted.    
She also wrote about how she would love to have an adventure with him.    
  
“Hell, Dana.. This is super cute. And the snowflakes look so cool. Thanks man, this is awesome!”   
  
“You really think so?”   
  
A wide smile crept over her face at that, so glad that he seemed to like her gift. It also gave her some confidence in the others being happy with it.    
  


“Yeah, I think so. I dig personal shit like this. And it’s nice to know you like me,” he shot her a grin, seeing how relieved she looked.    
He didn’t like that Dana was still so anxious about their opinion of her, but he didn’t mind reassuring her that she was liked.    
But he did like showing her that even better.    
  
“So, you know how tomorrow there will be a big feast? Every year, Sister Magda makes these special cookies. She makes tons of them, but we never get enough to be honest. Wanna make a run to the kitchens and.. liberate some of them?”

Dana thought for a moment. The way Dew said it, she knew it was most likely not allowed, but it was only some cookies after all. They couldn’t get into too much trouble over it, surely?   
And she could really do with some sweets right about now…   
She looked at Dew with shining eyes.   
  
“Let’s do it!”

Together, they made their way up to the ground floor, socked feet quiet against the stone floors. Once, Dew pulled Dana behind a tapestry, hiding from an older Sister who grumbled about something they didn’t catch.    
Dana felt thrilled to be doing something forbidden for once. Alone, she wouldn’t have dared, but Dew’s nonchalant grin made it fun.   
The kitchens were dark and quiet, but a lot warmer than the rest of the convent.    
The small fire ghoul made a real spectacle about sneaking up to the row of refrigerators, snagging a bowl from the table along the way.    
It looked so over the top, Dana had to stifle her giggling with her hands. Dew was happy to hear it, though. Girl needed some fun in her life.    
When she joined him at the fridges, he pointed to a row of stone jars, decorated with bows.    
  
“There’s some kind of spell on the kitchen, to keep the newly summoned ghouls from climbing the furniture and appliances. It takes some ghouls time to adjust..” He explained at her inquisitive look.    
“So, we need teamwork. I’ll lift ya, and you get some cookies for us. Cool?”   
  
“Okay, gimme the bowl.” Dana was having too much fun to be bothered by anything right now, and Dew swooped down to wrap his arms around her legs, lifting her up.    
They were an odd picture, Dana basically sitting on his chest.    
But she was quick about her job, scooping some cookies into her bowl.    
Once she was securely back on the ground, Dana was hugging their spoils close, and they both ran back down to the lounge. Dew was impressed the Sister could keep up with him, even though he didn’t use his full speed. He wanted to head back to the lounge, but Dana kept going and he followed her to her room.    
  
Once inside, she broke into a breathless laughter, letting herself fall to the soft carpet covering the cold stones.    
  
“Here we can destroy the evidence unseen,” she told him conspiratorially. He laughed and sat down with her, having a look around. He hadn’t seen her room before, but found that it suited her. She’d need some more trinkets however to make it look lived in. Then his gift tomorrow would certainly come in handy, he thought with a grin.    
For now though, he grabbed a cookie and held it up.    
  
“These. These are the gold. They’re like orange chocolate brownie cookie things. I have no clue, to be honest, but they are so good. Fuck, we should have stolen something to drink…”    
  
“No need!” Dana stretched over to her nightstand and opened the door, revealing a well stocked mini fridge. Julian told her he’d insisted on that, so that she didn’t have to go to the kitchens every time she wanted something other than tapwater from her bathroom.    
  
She pulled out some iced tea for them, and then grabbed a cookie, biting into it.    
The chocolate taste was rich but not overwhelming, and there was just the right amount of orange in it. They were heavenly.   
For a little while they just indulged in their cookies and chatted about nothing important.    
Dew was telling her about the first Yule in the convent after he’d been summoned, when some of the older ghouls threw him in the snow and he completely freaked out because it was so cold and wet.    
  
Dana had to laugh at him, able to imagine that just perfectly. She found it interesting when he told her about his transition into this human world. He was one of the ghouls who had never actually been human and the girl figured it had been a stark transition.    
But the way Dew spoke about it had her in stitches in no time.    
They didn’t even notice the time passing until Dana couldn’t hold in the yawns any longer.    
Dew finally realised it was almost 5 am, and that his human friend needed sleep.   
Once he left her to fall comatose, he stopped by the lounge real quick to pick up his letter and headed to the room he and Swiss shared.    
  


“Where the fuck have you been all night, gremlin?” he mumbled sleepily when his mate curled up against him.    
  
“Just adventuring.” 

* * *

Dana and Dew both slept in the next morning, but the other ghouls were out and about. Cirrus and Cumulus were the first to go to the lounge where they found the letters lying on the table. Curiosity was high and they quickly found the letters addressed to them, and admired the little sketches on the envelope.    
The blonde sister had been very apprehensive around the ghoulettes for the longest time, feeling they were more intimidating than the ghouls, and expressed her wish to get to know them better and admired their confidence and attitudes.    
The ghoulettes were touched, comparing their letters and grinning. They had a cute human on their hands.    
  
Cirrus texted the rest to come to the lounge, saying they had gifts waiting for them. That made them appear rather quickly and Cumulus distributed the letters to the right ghouls. They were all touched by the honest words, and being happily surprised she had thought of them at all.    
  
“Why don’t you guys go get Dana,” Mountain told the ghoulettes, who nodded, and continued, “And we go get the gifts we wanted to give her. Meet back here in 10?”    
  
Everyone agreed and scampered off. Cumulus led her mate off to Dana’s room and knocked. It took a few minutes for the door to open and a very sleepy girl answered.

When she saw the Ghoullettes, she straightened out and bid them inside. Cirrus leaned on the desk while Cumulus sat down on the edge of the bed.    
  
“Dana, thank you so much for the letters. That’s such a wonderful gift to give. I really enjoyed reading it. Just know, it means a lot to us and the guys.”    
  
“Yeah,” Cirrus added, “It was really thoughtful of you.”    
  
Dana flushed but smiled at them. After Dew’s reaction, she hadn’t been so nervous any more, but it was still nice to hear.   
  
“Thanks so much. I didn’t have much else to give, so I figured.. you know.”    
  
“It was wonderful. And now it’s our turn. Come on, the others are waiting in the lounge.” Dana stared at Cirrus for a good 30 seconds before she realised that she was going to get gifts. Dana had rarely ever gotten gifts, and she didn’t know what to say now.    
  
Cumulus took pity on the girl and linked her arm through Dana’s, simply taking charge and leading the young sister out of her room. The others were waiting in the lounge and there was a pile of boxes on the table.    
Swiss had managed to wake up Dew, who was sitting on the floor, tail flicking excitedly.    
  
“Come on, Dana, move your butt, I wanna open my gifts!”    
  
Dana grinned at him and let herself be maneuvered onto a sofa by the shorter ghoulette. Rain brought her a mug of tea and she thanked him.    
This seemed to be a routine for the ghouls by now, seeing how they were all comfortably settled around the table with steaming mugs of their own. Dana sat back and decided to just go with whatever the ghouls were planning on doing.    
Dew, being his high energy self, shot up and began rooting around the pile, passing boxes to people.

He plopped down on the sofa next to Dana, squishing himself between her and Cumulus and handed her an exquisitely wrapped present. It was rather heavy, and Dana looked at it excitedly.    
  
“Well, go on! Open it. Swiss wrapped it by the way. He’s a lot better at this than I am.” Swiss winked at her from the other side of the couch, digging into his gift that certainly looked a bit worn, like someone had to re-wrap it a few times.    
Dew grinned sheepishly. He simply had other talents.   
  
Dana gingerly unwrapped the gift, taking her sweet time untying the bow and carefully sliding off the paper. Dew almost died with anticipation at this point and Cumulus laughed feeling him twitch. She finally lifted the lid off the box, and gasped at the contents.   
Nestled between tons of tissue paper were gems of various sizes and colour, and Dana took a few of them out to examine them.

“Swiss and I thought they would look nice on your shelves. And they have like powers and stuff, I don’t know, Swiss will have to explain that some time.”    
  
Dew honestly found their appeal more in their appearance than their potential powers, but both had merit.    
He told her about which stone was which, and Dana learned she had gotten some jade, quartz crystals and obsidian. There were some more, but she couldn’t remember all the names. At the very bottom was a thin booklet describing the properties of various stones.    
Dana was over the moon with this gift, and knew she would spend the better part of her day just examining the stones.    
She thanked the two ghouls profusely, but they laughed and waved her off, digging into their own gifts.    
Rain shuffled over to her next, a very thin package in hand.    
Dana liked Rain, but he was hard to read because he was so quiet.    
She unwrapped it carefully, and was stunned at a beautiful watercolour painting of snowy forest.    
  
“Did.. did you make this?”    
  
Rain nodded and smiled, blushing a bit. He was a bit nervous about giving this gift to her, not putting his art skills out there much. But seeing how in awe she was, staring at the canvas, it stroked his ego.    
  
“Thank you, Rain… This is absolutely amazing. I didn’t know you could paint!”   
  
“You should see his room sometime. It’s like he uses his paintings like wallpaper.”    
  
Rain flipped Aether off but had to laugh along with all of the others. 

Dana didn’t have much more time to admire the gift, but she gave Rain’s hand a gentle squeeze and smiled happily when he commented on the sketch she made on his envelope.   
Next, Mountain leaned over and handed her a heavy box. There was no wrapping paper, but a pretty orange and green bow.    
Dana opened it and made a little squeal when she saw what was inside.    
  
It was a beautiful little bonsai, a red maple. It was so vibrant and the bark felt warm to the touch. Every tiny leaf was so violently red and she loved it.    
The overpot was a sturdy wood, carved with vines and stars.    
  
“Thanks so much, Mountain. It’s beautiful.”    
  
“I know you’ll take good care of him.”    
  
“Oh, I will. I promise. I know just where to put this lil sweetie.”

Next came a large box from Julian and the ghoulettes. To her surprise, it was a box of clothes. Sweat pants, a pair of Yoga pants, tshirts, some hoodies. Just your basic hangout clothes, which she barely possessed any of. Dana had like one pair of sweats and a t-shirt, the rest were dresses and her habits.    
  
Another person may have felt embarrassed at receiving this very clear indicator that they found her wardrobe lacking, but Dana felt incredibly happy about her gift.    
There was even a ghost shirt that had the ghoul masks on it.    
She pulled that out and laughed happily.   
  
“Now I can wear you guys around the convent!”

They laughed at her excitement. Dana was so easy to please, it was a delight to watch her joy.    
She watched the pile of wrapping paper grow ever larger, and the ghouls unwrap their presents. They all knew each other so well, it seemed like they knew exactly what gifts to get each other.    
  
“Okay, who the fuck got Dew a slingshot!”    
  
Swiss had a slight tinge of panic in his tone and Rain started giggling, outing himself as the culprit.   
The Multi ghoul pointed a menacing finger at his slimmer friend.   
  
“You’re dead, water boy.” 

“No murder on Yule, boys,” Aether laughed at them before beckoning Dana over to him. She came and sat down gingerly, smiling up at the large ghoul.    
Swiss was bickering with Rain in the background, but Dana didn’t mind, knowing nothing would happen.    
  
“I want to thank you for your letter. It was a very sweet gift.”   
  
Dana smiled, a small pinkish blush on her cheeks. His letter had been hard for her to write, but she was glad he liked it. He held a parcel in his lap, with purple and gold wrapping around it and handed it to her sheepishly.    
  
“I wasn’t sure what to get you, so I opted for some of my favourites..”   
  
She was a bit confused until she opened the box. Books! There were five books in there and Dana pulled them out, looking at the titles.    
Frankenstein, Dracula, Poe’s collected works, an anthology of Stephen King, and the last one, Perfume: Story of a murderer.   
  
Dana had heard of some of these, but she hadn’t read any yet, but you could feel her practically vibrating with excitement. She pulled out Perfume and flipped it over to read the description.    
  
“Aether, this is… thank you. I love to read, I really do. Thank you so much.”

Aether looked down at her, smiling gently. He was glad his gift was so well received. The large ghoul was a writer at heart, but he felt that giving her something like that, one of his poems, might have been too forward. Imagine his surprise when Dana did just that.    
But he was glad. That letter was very personal and he hadn’t shown it to any of the ghouls, for it spoke about how much she appreciated that he told no one about the nightmare and that she had never felt so safe and comforted after she had one.    
But seeing her handle the books so reverently, he was glad he had chosen them for her.    
  
They all sat for a while longer, enjoying each other's company and showing off their gifts, but before long, Cumulus, who had smartly brought a bag for her and Cirrus’ gifts, got up and told Dana to come with them.    
  
The sister tried to grab all her stuff, but Cirrus took some of the boxes from her, lest she fall.    
After thanking everyone once more for her gifts, she followed the Ghoulettes back to her room. Cumulus set her bag down by the door and Cirrus put Dana’s parcels on her desk.    
The ones Dana was carrying followed suit.

Now to put them all away… Cirrus was very helpful in that, seemingly having an eye for where the vividly coloured rocks would pop on her white and grey shelves.    
The Bonsai went directly on one of the corners of her desk, where it got enough light, and Dana could just sit and stare at it.    
The shelf above the desk was filled with the books Aether gave her and the booklet on gems from Swiss and Dew.    
Next, she folded her clothes into her closet, and put Rain’s picture on her bedside table, propped up against the wall.    
  
When she was done, she sat on her carpet, leaning back against her bed and sighed happily. Cumulus peered at the girl over the edge of the mattress she was lounging on. 

  
“Had fun at your first Yule gift party?”    
  
“I.. I never even thought about that. I didn’t expect anything. But you guys gave me so much. I don’t even know how to thank you.”    
  


“There is no need to thank us. You're our friend, of course we want to give you gifts. Can’t be different than Christmas, as far as I’m told.”    
  
Dana didn’t answer that. She knew what Christmas looked like, she knew what it was supposed to be like…    
  
Cirrus noticed the girl’s mood drop and slid off the desk to sit on the carpet with her.    
She wasn’t as motherly as her mate, really not, but she picked up on mood swings a lot faster. The way Dana’s brow furrowed and her lips were pressed together.    
She poked the girl with her tail and looked at her encouragingly.    
  
“What’s the matter, hon? You can tell us.”

Dana stayed silent for a little while. She trusted her friends. She should be able to tell them things, right? There were no more repercussions..    
  
“When we celebrated Christmas, it was.. Well. Not great. My family celebrated it, but I didn’t really get to participate.”    
  
She even allowed some bitterness into her voice. The distance from her life and from her family, it helped Dana put some things into perspective.    
The ghoulettes watched the young sister and she saw pity in their eyes.    
  
“When my siblings sat down to open presents, I was watching the food or setting the table. Sometimes my brothers got me some gifts, but Henry snuck them into my room at night. I never opened presents with people. Christmas was just another day for chores.” 

Cumulus looked appalled. Not only was this just cruel in her eyes, she could understand the bitterness seeing at how her siblings were not treated like this. No wonder Dana had looked to be on the verge of tears all morning.    
  
“Yeah well, fuck your family, they’re shitheads.”    
  
Cirrus didn’t know just how right she was, but it did help Dana to hear it. Opening up to the ghouls wasn’t easy. But Dana felt that she could. That finally someone cared, and that was a good feeling.    
  
“They didn’t like me very much. No idea why, but I’m here now. That’s what matters, I suppose.” 

“It is what matters. Fuck them if I they didn’t want you around, we do. I’m sorry your family sucked so much, but you renounced them by coming here. You don’t belong to them anymore, you belong here, with us.” 

During her little speech, Cumulus has slid off the bed and settled beside Dana, hugging the frail girl close and squishing their cheeks together.    
Dana giggled at her antics, but was touched by the sentiment. She was starting to let herself believe that they really wanted to be her friends, and she melted into the embrace.    
  
“Thank you,” she mumbled into her shoulder. She just wanted to stay here and sit with Cirrus and Cumulus and chat, but the Black Mass would start soon and they needed to get ready.    
When Dana pointed that out Cirrus just groaned, but Cumulus dragged her wife out of the room, calling for Dana to meet them at the lounge when she was ready. 

* * *

Dana took far too long to get ready. Her hair wasn’t cooperating, the habit she wanted to wear had a button pop off, it was all horrible.    
When she walked up to the lounge, you wouldn’t guess it though. She looked immaculate in her habit, not a hair out of place.    
It’s not that Dana took great pride in her appearance. She really didn’t care all that much, but it had been always expected of her to look flawless when she did show up to an event. It was ingrained behaviour and she simply didn’t question it.    
  
Aether was standing by the door to the lounge, leaning against the wall. When he heard footsteps, he looked up to see the blonde sister hurrying towards him.    
He saw that she looked worried at seeing only him there.    
  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise I was so late..”    
  
“It’s okay, love. I told the others to go ahead, we’ll just slip in and sit in the back. Nobody will care, don’t worry.”   
  
She looked very relieved at that news and Aether led the way up to the chapel. They didn’t see anyone till they got to the ground floor, and Dana was very relieved when she saw other siblings were late as well. The throng was especially thick around the entrance to the chapel, and Aether wrapped his tail around her wrist and cut a swat through the crowd of people with his large stature alone.   
  
He slipped into a pew at the back and scooted over to let Dana sit beside him. She looked around with interest. Everyone was in their best habits and suits, primped and primed. 

She’d been to black masses before, but none on such a high holiday and she was excited.    
And Aether was right, it didn’t matter that they were late, since the Third wasn’t even there yet.    
  
She did see the Second sitting behind the altar with his brother and father and when Dana caught his eye, the very corner of his lip twitched, giving her an almost-there smile. She grinned back widely and continued looking around.   
The chapel looked wonderful, all decorated in purples and gold.    
When a hush fell over the crowd, her eyes landed on a door to the side of the front and the Third swept through, in very ornate robes. He was escorted by two of his ghouls who stood behind him as he took his place in front of the altar.    
  
Dana was swept up in the sermon. The Third was a fantastic orator and held the attention of the crowd easily. She liked it when they said the Anti Nicene Creed together, the uniformity of it being very calming to her.    
Aether watched her recite it with a small smile on his face. He was glad Dana took to the life in the convent so well, knowing it could be a tough transition for a lot of people.    
  
The Black Mass lasted about one and half hours and the Third spoke a lot about the origins of Yule and condemned Christianity for stealing this pagan tradition.    
Dana hadn’t known how much they took from people. So far, Yule had been so much better than any Christmas she’d ever experienced.    
When mass was over, she followed Aether outside again. They wanted to wait for the rest of the band and go to dinner together, but Arsino approached them first.    
  
“Hello Dana. Remember me? Papa would like to see you for a moment. Come with me?”   
  
Dana felt like she didn’t have a choice here, so she smiled and nodded.    
Aether told her to come find them in the hall and watched her walk off with the Second’s ghoul.    
  
Arsino led the young Sister around the side of the room to the door the Third had entered though.    
He knocked, but didn’t wait to be called in, simply opened and pushed Dana inside. The Second was standing by a window, hands behind his back, and turned when he heard the ghoul and sister enter.    
  
“You wanted to see me, Papa? Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry I was late to the sermon…”    
  
“Dana, you’re not in trouble. Every sermon has a few stragglers, it happens. No, I called you because I have something for you.”    
  
He beckoned Dana over to the window. On the sill was a small package, wrapped in emerald paper with a silver and back bow.    
  
“A gift.. for me?” She had received so many today already. Should she have written the Second a letter as well? She had thought about it, but ultimately didn’t dare to.

She reached for the parcel and gingerly unwrapped it.   
  
Inside was a worn book, and when Dana opened it, it revealed pages upon pages of neat, flowing script. She looked up at Papa curiously.    
  
“This belonged to a very powerful witch who used to live at the convent. A.. protege of mine, you could say. One Anne Fitzroy.”    
  
Dana peaked up at that. Fitzroy? Was she one of the girls that was sent here, like her?    
  
“As you may have guessed, she’s from your bloodline. Anne was the first Fitzroy girl in our church. She was the beginning to your family’s wealth and power. And she was remarkable.”    
  
Papa led Dana over over to a pair of armchairs and she sat, waiting to hear more.    
Arsino sat himself down on the armrest of her chair. Dana didn’t mind him, having seen him more and more around the convent.    
  
“The thing is, Dana, all Fitzroy girls who have come to our convent in the past have had abilities. Some more so than others, but every single one had magic. I want you to read that diary, learn about Anne and her spellcraft. And then we will find out if you have a talent for it as well.”    
  
“I.. I can’t be a witch.. Witches are powerful.. I’m just me.”    
  
“Do not say these things. You haven’t discovered your power yet. You’ve been kept small and downtrodden, but that will all change now. You will start to believe in yourself.”    
  
“Yeah,” Arsino threw in.   
“You got confidence hidden away in there somewhere. We just need to find it.”    
  
Papa stood, smoothing out his robes. Dana and Arsino followed suit, the girl clutching the book tightly.    
  
“You will have some time to prepare. But not today. Today is a day of festivities and joy. Arsino, escort her back to the hall. Dana, I will summon you in a few days.”    
  
As if she wouldn’t be thinking about this every single day until he summoned her. But she would try to forget about it tonight, to just enjoy some time with her friends.    
Arsino led her out of the room and offered his arm to her with a charming grin.    
Dana giggled a bit and then linked her arm through his.    
  
“So listen,” he started speaking as they walked to the hall.    
“I knew Anne. She was a real sweetheart. So if you read that diary, and you wanna talk about her, just come to me, okay? I can answer any questions you may have.”   
  
“You did? So you knew the other girls too?”    
  
“Yep. Every single one of them. All the Fitzroys were a popular bunch. And very pleasant, except for 2 or 3 arrogant ones. But most were kind and sweet, always a nice word for everyone.”    
  
“Well, I’m not popular.”    
  
“Yeah, because you never talk to anyone but the ghouls,” Arsino chuckled at her.    
“Listen, I know you had problems but don’t let that stop you from making friends here, okay.” 

Dana decided to take his words to heart. The siblings here couldn’t be all horrible.   
They entered the hall and drew some attention as everyone was already seated and eating. Dana caught Agnes glaring daggers at her, but she simply held her head high and walked away with Arsino.    
  


He dropped her off with the band who had left a space for Dana and squeezed her hand.    
  
“Don’t forget, okay, doll? Come see me.”    
  
“I will. Thank you, Arsino.” 

She watched him saunter away to the higher tables where the personal ghouls sat, before she sank into her seat between Rain and Aether.    
While Dana grabbed a plate of food, the water ghoul on her right stared at the retreating ghoul until he caught Dew’s wide grin. With a blush, he went back to his food, refusing to meet the fire Ghoul’s gaze. 

Dew sat across from her and swallowed down a huge bite of meat before addressing her.    
  
“So, what the fuckboy want?” 

Dana didn’t understand what a fuckboy was, having not heard the term before, but she was too awkward to ask and just shrugged with a small smile.    
  
“Arsino came to get me because Papa had something to give me.”    
  
That raised eyebrows around the table. The Second wasn’t known to be very giving, so it was a surprise to hear. But it was obvious that Dana didn’t want to volunteer to them what that worn book beside her plate was, so they didn’t ask. 

Instead, she began eating, and asked the ghouls for their plans for the evening. Swiss and Dew just grinned at each other and Dana didn’t ask, Cirrus and Cumulus had a date planned and Mountain said he was gonna spend the evening watching movies with Rain in their room. Julian, of course, was going to spend his night with Copia in their rooms. Seemed like everyone was paired off for the evening.    
The girl was ready to just lounge in her room and read when Aether grinned at her shrugged.    
  
“Looks like we’re the only losers without a date. Wanna hang out and listen to some music?”    
  
“Sure, I’d love that. I don’t know much music though..”    
  
“Aw, that’s no problem, love. I’ll show you some and we’ll find your style.”    
  
That made Dana actually look forward to the night. Sure, she loved curling up in a blanket, in her own room, but now that she had a social life, she found that she wanted their attention and presence as much as possible.    
  
They ate together and laughed, with the ghouls inhaling amounts of food that Dana could hardly believe, and one by one, they all left to get ready for their dates. Aether and Dana took their sweet ass time, and she watched him dig into the cookies. She on the other hand simply nibbled on one.    
  
“Not much of a sweet tooth, hmm?”    
  
“Oh no, I love sweets. But,” she leaned closer to him to whisper, prompting Aether to bend down, “Dew and I stole my weight in cookies last night and they are.. hellsent, I guess you would say? I just ate far too many of them.”    
  
Aether couldn’t help but laugh at her secretive face. Trust Dew to get her to break the rules.    
  
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell. Ready to go?”   
  
“Mhm.” 

She grabbed her book and once more, an arm was offered to her and she took it.    
  
“Do ghouls go to Gentlemen school or something? First Arsino, then you…”    
  
“Well, Arsino just picked it up to be the charming Prince to people. But I used to be human and when I was, this was just proper etiquette.” 

“Oh.. You’ll have to tell me about that some time. How you became a ghoul. But only if you want to.” 

“Oh, of course. If you’re interested. I don’t mind at all.”    
  
He led her down to their floor, but walked past the lounge, further down the corridor.    
  
“Hope you don’t mind, but I have all my records and stuff in my room. I could set it up in the lounge if you wanted too?”    
  
“Oh, please no. That would be too much work. We can just hang out in your room.”    
  
That made a happy smile appear on Aether’s face. He wanted her to be comfortable above all, but this was definitely simpler than lugging around his record player.    
At his room, he held open the door and Dana curiously stepped inside.    
  
His room looked very cozy to her. Not any bigger than hers, but very lived in and cozy. She tried not to look too nosy as she let her eyes dart over the knick knacks on the shelves and the guitars in the corner. Like her, he had a large bed wedged into one corner and a desk, but it always amazed Dana how different two similar spaces could look.    
At the foot of the bed stood a record player and a little shelf filled with vinyls. 

  
“Your room is really nice. It looks comfortable.”    
  
Aether smiled, toeing off his shoes and Dana followed suit, not wanting to be rude. But she didn’t quite know what to do with herself next. She didn’t just want to sit on the bed, so she just stood in the middle of the room awkwardly, watching him pull out some of the vinyls.    
He noticed at one point that she still stood behind him and chuckled.   
  
“You can sit down, you know. Nothing pristine about this old place.”    
  
With a small grin, Dana sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for him to make a selection. 

“Ah, I think you’ll like this one. Agents of Fortune. It’s a great album.”    
  
He set up the player and put down the needle, and Dana heard the opening chords for the first song. It sounded very nice.    
The large ghoul hopped onto his bed, scooting up to lean against the headboard, watching the little nun listen with her eyes closed.    
She started to sway to the beat, which was just utterly endearing.    
  
“Who are they? Like, the band?”    
  
“They’re called Blue Öyster Cult. A band from the sixties, mostly hard rock and metal. But they do have some softer songs.”    
“Well, so far, I really like them. They have a nice melody.”    
  
He was glad she did. For a while, they both just listened, him leaning against the wall, and her leaning back on her arms. When the third song came on, Dana began to hum. This was definitely her favourite.    
  
“What’s this one called?”    
  
“Don’t fear the Reaper. A classic and definitely one of the better known ones. You like it?”    
  
“Oh yes! It’s so.. melodic. And the lyrics are so nice. It’s my favourite, hands down.”    
  
He laughed at her joy, hopping off the bed and grabbing one of his acoustic guitars from the corner. Aether sat back down on the bed beside her, and started playing along to the record. Dana drew up her legs to sit cross legged on the bed and watched him play.    
Music was absolutely fascinating to Dana and she observed his clawed fingers delicately working the strings.    
When the song ended, she clapped enthusiastically.   
  
“That was amazing! Is it hard to learn how to play?”    
  
“To learn? No. To play well takes a lot of practice. Here, you try.”    
  
He passed her the guitar and slid off the bed to kneel before her and adjust her fingers on the fretboard.   
  
“Okay, so this is the Em. Strum the strings… Very good, and this next one is the C,” he adjusted her grip again, showing her which strings to press down.    
“Now strum again, there we go. Now you know two chords.” 

Dana giggled happily. She kept switching between the two chords, trying to commit them to memory.    
  
“I’ll teach you the four basic chords, and then I’ll lend you the guitar. Then you can practice on your own. Practice transitions and such.”    
  
It was a delight to see her slender fingers fly over the fretboard. It needed more time to see if she had any talent, but as long as she was enjoying herself, Aether was happy to teach her.    
They breezed through the G and D chord with the music playing in the background.   
  
Eventually though, Dana had to throw in the towel since her fingers started to hurt.    
Aether took her hands gently and examined the grooves in her fingertips.    
  
“Yeah this happens in the beginning until calluses form. If you keep practicing, it will not hurt any more. I can go on for hours now. Just a matter of getting used to it. But for now, I think you need a break.”   
  
Aether took the guitar and leaned it against the bed, climbing back up on top of the matress. He had something on his mind for a while now, and since he and Dana were alone, it might be the right time to bring it up.    
He still needed a few minutes to figure out how to address it.

  
  


“Hey, Dana… I wanted to ask you something. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. But I wanted to ask about your nightmares. Have you still been having them that badly?”

Dana didn’t expect that question. She wasn’t taken aback, just wondering how to answer that one.    
She wanted to answer. She really wanted to begin trusting people. Taking a deep breath, Dana decided just to be honest.    
  
“Yeah. I have them a lot. But it’s okay, I’m used to it.”    
  
She tried to brush it off, but Aether remembered that she had actually had to bite herself to make no noise, so he wasn’t convinced. 

  
“Listen, Dana, you don’t have to talk about it, but it seems like a big deal to me. I mean, you were crying and everything. I was just wondering if I could help, you know.”    
  
Dana had her hands twisted in her lap, squeezing her fingers. Why the hell did they have to care so much?    
  
“It’s really not so bad. I know they’re just dreams..” It seemed like Dana was struggling to get the words out but now that she had started, she didn’t want to stop.    
“This monster.. he chases me through halls and I can never get away. He always catches me. Eventually I wake up. It just takes me a while to realise the dream is over.”    
  
She finished with a small shrug, not sure what to say about it. This was more than she had ever told anyone in that regard anyway.    
A part of her waited to be told that it was ridiculous and she needed to get over it already.    
But instead, Aether scooted closer to her and told her to look at him. 

“I’m sorry you have these dreams. That sounds horrible. Look, if you.. When you have these dreams and you need to talk to someone, or just someone to be there so you feel better, you can always come to me, okay? Middle of the night, it doesn’t matter. Just kick down the door.”    
  
Dana appreciated the offer, not sure if she’d ever take him up on it. But the last time, she really had felt safe with him close… She didn’t know. All she knew was that she was very confused.    
  
“I.. Thank you.. I think I’m going to go now. Thank you for teaching me and hanging out with me.”    
  
Before Aether could really respond, she was already out the door and hurrying down the halls. 


	5. Chapter 5 - New Years

The convent was lazy and quiet in the week after Yule. Even though New Years Eve was not celebrated in the satanic calendar, the convent did celebrate the holiday with a big bonfire and food and fireworks. There were no real services between Yule and New Year and people only did the bare necessities when it came to chores. It seemed like the entire convent was in a lazy stupor.    
  
On the night before New Years Eve, a small, thin figure crept through the dark stone hallways of the lower levels. A soft knock rang on Aether’s door. Thankfully the ghoul was awake, working on a new song, or me might have missed the sound.    
He opened his door slowly, half expecting a prank from Dew.    
  
But it was Dana. She stared up at him with red eyes. Her tear stained face was pale and drawn and she tried hard not to make a sound. Aether let her inside and quietly closed the door behind her.    
Dana stood in the middle of his room, in sweatpants and a hoodie, feet bare on the icy stone.    
  
Her back was turned to him and he saw that she tried so hard not to cry. Aether stepped over to her, and carefully reached out, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.    
At the slightest touch, she whirled around and latched onto him, face pressed against the ghoul’s chest. He automatically closed his arms around her and held her as she cried.    
She sounded so pitiful and without further thought, he picked her up and carried her to the bed.    
Aether sat down on the mattress, lap full of distraught girl, and just held her and rubbed soothing circles on her back. He didn’t press her to talk to him, she would do so when she was ready. He was content to just provide the comfort she so obviously needed. 

Dana took quite a while to calm down, But like the last time, she felt safe in his embrace, curled into a little ball in his lap. When she had finally calmed to the point of just hiccups, the girl noticed just how hard she clawed her fingers in his shirt and loosened her grip.    
  
“M’sorry. I.. I didn’t know where to go. And you said I could come…”    
  
  
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said softly, tightening his arms around her carefully.    
“I told you to come here if you need me, it’s alright, love.” 

  
He leant back against his headboard, and Dana, having no inclination to let go of him, just lay against his broad chest, her gaze fixed on his guitars in the corner. 

Aether continued rubbing her back, letting her breathing even out before he spoke up.    
  
“Was it the same dream as last time?”    
  
Dana nodded, lips twitching again, but she kept her composure this time.    
  
“Again, you don’t have to tell me, but do you have any idea what’s causing it? Why there is always the same monster?”

Dana’s breathing quickened up again, and she could feel the panic rising in her chest. Her hand clawed back into his shirt so tightly her knuckles turned white and she accidentally scratched him.    
Aether just took her hand, lacing the slim fingers through his own.   
  
“Squeeze as hard as you need. It’s okay. You’re okay.” 

And squeeze she did. Not hard enough to be painful, but the ghoul was surprised at the strength of her grip. Not quite knowing what to do, he began to hum. It was no particular song, just a simple melody that popped into his mind, but Dana seemed to respond to it very well. 

He could feel her breathing even out as her body relaxed against his, the taught grip she had on him softening,    
  
He was about to tell her it was okay, she needn’t tell him what upset her so, just glad that his humming had helped her down from what he assumed would have been a full blown panic attack, when Dana began to speak.    
  
“The monster is always the same. He’s been chasing me my whole life. He’s been catching me every night and the things he does….” She was mumbling, ashamed and very, very tired.    
“I’ve been running from my father my whole life…..”   
  
Dana was almost gone again, utterly exhausted from staving off the panic attack and by the time Aether had pieced together what she said, who the monster in her nightmares was, she fell into an uneasy sleep. Aether watched her tense face, and kept humming to her while he connected some dots.    
  
What the hell had her father done to her? To his child? She was still utterly terrified of him. He thought for a long time, about her behaviour, about the clues she had given them all along, and he found parallels to how Julian used to be. Julian with his abusive family…   
  
He battled his anger down and carefully shifted the girl until he could lay and protectively wrap himself around the sleeping nun.    
  
“Oh Dana,” he whispered into her soft hair, careful not to wake her.    
“No one will hurt you. No monster from a nightmare will ever touch you again.” 

Aether didn’t sleep that night. Instead he watched the girl laying next to him, observing her face for any sign of discomfort, prepared to shake her awake from any potential nightmare.    
But her face smoothed out and she slept calmly for the next few hours.    
He didn’t mind staying up, Ghouls didn’t need as much sleep as humans, and he found watching her expression changes was very entertaining.    
  
Sunlight began to creep into the room, but Dana didn’t wake until a few hours later.    
Eventually her face scrunched up before her eyes fluttered open and she blinked against the sunlight.    
She was curled up against the large demon who was laying on his back, smiling down at her. 

“Hey you. Sleep well?”    
  
Dana, still very sleepy, stretched a bit to pop her spine and smiled at him sheepishly.    
Now, in the light and clarity of morning, she felt a bit ashamed for running to his room because of a nightmare. But last night it was the only thing her brain held on to.    
  
“Sorry for bothering you. I just…”    
  
She didn’t even know how to finish the sentence, but he just gave her a squeeze with the arm curled around her and chuckled.    
  
“Dana, I told you to come to me if something was bothering you. It’s alright, I’m glad I could help.”    
  
She felt like he really meant that, which helped her relax a lot. Still very tired, Dana resisted the urge to just hide her face in his side and go back to sleep. As much as that would be very comfortable, she felt like she was pushing it at this point.    
  
Begrudgingly untangling himself from Aether, she sat up and stretched properly.    
He watched her, realised he was staring and quickly slid out of the bed, almost taking the blanket with him.    
  
He heard Dana giggling behind him and felt his cheeks heat up. But the sound was adorable and a far cry from last night, so he was happy to hear it.    
Aether shuffled over to the desk, opening one of the drawers and revealing a small box which he brought back to the bed.    
  
He too had a small fridge in his nightstand and pulled out two bottles of water before sitting down cross-legged and opening the small box, which to Dana’s surprise, contained a small stash of individually wrapped muffins. She stared at him, mouth slightly open.    
  
“I like muffins,” he shrugged with a smile.   
“I get some whenever I go out and then hide them or Dew decimates my entire stash.” 

“Yeah, he definitely would, thinking about the cookie incident. So, you saying I need to find a sweet stash in my room?” she asked, grabbing an apple cinnamon muffin and unwrapping it before she nibbled on the streusel crust.    
  
“If you give me a minute to change, I’ll come help you find a perfect spot.   
  
“Oh that would be wonderful! Thank you.”    
  
So while Aether inhaled two blueberry muffins and grabbed his clothes to disappear into his bathroom, Dana slowly ate her muffin, content with herself.    
She had slept so wonderfully, she was just fully happy for once.    
  
Once Aether was dressed in his uniform, sans the mask and balaclava, he pulled on some firm boots, having an idea for later. He also folded his long coat over his arm, and was ready to go.   
  
He offered a hand to the girl on the bed, and winced slightly when her bare feet hit the cold stone floor.    
  
“Come on then, before you freeze to the floor and become a permanent fixture in my room. Not that I would mind.”    
  
She stuck out her tongue at him and he actually laughed.    
Together they hurried down the hall to her room, and Dana barged inside, jumping onto the carpet. Aether followed at a calmer pace.    
  
He had helped arrange this room, but had only seen the bare bones of it. Now it was her space and it suited her well. She grabbed some clothes from the closet and excused herself to her bathroom to take a quick shower.    
  
Left to his own devices, Aether looked around her room. The sheets on her bed were immaculate, and he smiled happily to see that one of his books was laying beside her pillow.

Oh her desk lay the book the Second had given her, along with a small notebook.    
Aether itched to find out what that book was, but he wouldn’t pry.    
  
Instead, he inspected the wall behind the bed. Something had caught his eye, back when he and Mountain had dragged the heavy fourposter in. One of the tiles jutted out too far.    
Carefully, he jostled it around and pulled, revealing a hidden compartment. He knew there would be one, all the rooms in the ghouls quarter had secrets within them.    
  
When Dana exited the bathroom, dressed in her habit, and black stockings, but not her veil, he pulled her over and showed the nun what he'd found.    
Dana’s grey eyes went wide. This was perfect.    
  
“No one will find it if they don’t know it’s there. And I'll never look without permission, I swear.” 

“Thank you so much. That will be perfect!”   
  
He let her put it back in and pull it out to see how it worked.    
When that was done, Aether sat on her desk chair, crossing his legs.    
  
“So, I figure, and stop me if you think it’s boring, but we could have a walk around the grounds if you wanted to. There’s probably some places you haven’t seen yet.”    
  
Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea, I’ll get dressed and we can go.”

  
  


She pulled on some leather boots and gloves, looking rather high quality. Seeing his look, Dana shrugged and told him they’d been a gift from Arsino. Next came a scarf and long black coat and she twirled around, ready to go.    
  


“You look lovely. Let’s go.”    
  
She followed him out of her room, locking up and they walked through the halls in amiable silence.    
Once Aether opened the heavy wooden door that led outside however, Dana burst through with a laugh. She loved feeling the fresh snow crunch under her feet. Winter was the best time of the year to her, and the convent was beautiful in this blanket of snow. It was still very unreal to her.    
  
“So. I know the Gardens and greenhouses. Intimately. Take me there and I dunk you in the snow. Somehow…” 

“Well, thankfully for my own safety, I know a lot of places I can show you. No dunking for me.”    
  
She giggled again, linking her arm through his and letting him lead her around the back of the convent, through snowed in cloisters and yards.    
Dana hadn’t often been back here, as it was used more in the warmer months. There were wooden benches and stone tables for Siblings and Ghouls to sit out in the sun and lounge.    
  
Back in the open area behind the outdoor lounge, the fire ghouls were hard at work erecting the bonfire. Some of the stronger siblings were helping them pile up the wood to where it already towered over the tallest one of them.    
At the top, they saw Dew, precariously balancing on some branches and piling them higher.    
  
When he saw his friends, he waved enthusiastically and Dana waved back. There was no use in telling him to be careful, he’d probably fall off at least once within the next hour.    
Dew yelled for them to not be late for the bonfire later and Aether threw up a hand in acknowledgement and led Dana over to the wooded part of the convent’s sprawling grounds.    
Dana took note of the dense trees and part of her wanted to turn tail and run.    
But she was with Aether, it would be fine…    
  
She tried to be cheery and happy and talk to him, but the first time a loud branch cracked, Dana flinched violently.    
  
“Hey, are you okay? It was just a branch. Probably a fox or something.”    
  
He noticed that she was shivering however and wrapped an arm around Dana. This didn’t look like cold to him, but more like fear.    
  
  
“I’m.. Yeah, I’m okay. Just a bit scared of the woods.” she tried to brush it off with a shaky laugh, but the way he looked at her prompted the girl to explain.    
  
“We had this huge forest around the estate and one time when I was a little girl I wanted to hi- I got lost. I’d gone too far into the forest and couldn’t find my way home again. I was out there two nights before the gardener found me and I was so scared all the time. I thought nobody would come looking for me and I’d die. But Paul found me and it was okay again. I just.. I never stepped foot into the forest again. Stupid, isn’t it?”    
  
  
“It’s not stupid, Dana,” He pulled her close, squeezing her shoulders.    
“You were a child and you were scared. It’s completely natural. They should have found you a lot faster, frankly. But you don’t have to worry now. There is nothing in these woods that can match a ghoul, okay?”    
  
He gave her an assuring smile, and Dana felt relieved.   
She tried to relax and take in the truly serene forest around them, but Aether stopped paying attention. He had caught what she was going to say before she corrected herself and it made him vaguely angry.    
  
To avoid any more bad memories, he steered them out of the woods again and toward the frozen lake. It was incredibly popular in the summer, and Dana commented she wanted to definitely take a swim when it was warm again. It was like she’d never told her story. She was simply happy at the sight of water. 

* * *

  
  


Dana and Aether arrived back at the bonfire just when the sun began to set. Siblings and ghouls and higher clergy members alike were mingling in the large open space, excitedly waiting for the night to come and the fire to be lit.   
  


Under the watchful eyes of Sister Magda, the siblings who worked in the kitchens were distributing hot spiced wine and pastries and Aether led Dana over to get two steaming mugs of wine.    
They’d been out all day and the little nun’s face was starting to get red and blotchy, so the hot wine was very welcome.    
Dana drank deeply and gasped at the flavour. It was fantastic.    
  
Aether led her over to one of the benches, which were now covered in thick blankets, and they sat down, watching the crowd.    
  
“So, walk me through this. How is this evening going to go?”    
  
“Well… Basically New Years Eve here is just an excuse for the fire ghouls to go absolutely ape shit. As you can see, the bonfire is enormous, and it burns all night. And at midnight there will be a shit ton of fireworks to watch. It’s not a satanic holiday, but we still go all out for it.”

“Sounds like a wonderful night. So all we do is eat, drink and stare at a fire? Why is this not a thing more often?”    
  
“Cause it’s a real fire hazard,” Aether chuckled, telling Dana about how they almost burned the forest down one year.

She was in stitches by the end of his story. Of course it had been Dew who almost caused a wildfire.    
But before Aether could really finish his story, they got interrupted by someone calling Dana’s name. Looking around, she saw it was the Second. He was standing with his brothers, beckoning her over.    
She threw a glance at Aether, asking him to come with, and when he nodded, she made her way over to the Papas. The Second nodded at Aether, acknowledging his presence and then turned his attention to the young Sister.    
“Dana. Are you enjoying the bonfire?”    
  
“Yes, Papa. I’ve never seen a fire this big, it’s wonderful!”    
  
Dana was no longer as shy around the Second, knowing he did enjoy her presence, but she threw a somewhat timid look at his brothers. The girl had never spoken to either before and didn’t really know to proceed.    
He noticed the look immediately though and actually smiled.    
  
“You have never met my brothers, yes? Ignazio and Andrea.” HE motioned to his older and younger brother respectively.    
“Fratelli, this is Suora Dana.”    
  


The girl smiled at the brothers, mumbling out a polite greeting. The first looked down at the fidgety girl, smiling kindly. She was a pretty little thing, in need of guidance, he felt.    
  
“Hello Lamb. Have you settled well?”   
  


“Yes, sir. I spend a lot of time with the ghouls. They are very kind to me.”    
  
That got Aether an appreciative smile, which he returned. He liked the First and knew Dana would probably find it easy to talk to him. The old man was the convent’s grampa after all. And then there was the younger brother… Who gave Dana a slight bow and took her hand, ghosting his lips over the leather of her glove.    
  
“I understand why you hid her in the dungeons,Lorenzo, however I am offended you would keep this Dolcezza from me. If you ever venture out into the light, you’re welcome to call on me, beautiful.” 

Dana had never been spoken to like that, nor did she ever have her hand kissed. This was like in some of the books she used to read, and the girl blushed crimson, stammering out a thank you. 

She didn’t see Aether behind her just rolling his eyes, nor did she understand why the Second looked so grumpy all of a sudden.    
  
Ignazio however knew his brothers well enough and that Lorenzo was about to break off Andrea’s hands.    
  
“Etere, why don’t you take our lamb here over to see the fireworks. They are about to start.” 

The Third, realising he was about to be chucked into the bonfire, just flashed Dana another charming smile before the large Quintessence ghoul led her away.

Dana could hear the Second starting into his younger brother, but she caught sight of her friends and immediately forgot what was happening behind her.    
  
“Dew! The fire is amazing. It’s so high!”    
  
The small fire ghoul flashed her a grin and squeezed her hand. He loved this day a lot and was glad Dana had fun.    
The entire band was standing around a table, steaming pitchers of wine and food galore.    
Dana looked at all of them with warmth in her eyes. She had been only here for little over two months, and she was happier than she could ever remember.    
She actually had friends and they wanted her to be here. Mountain handed her another steaming mug of wine, and Rain scooted over so she could sit beside him on the thick blanket.    
The wine went down so easily, Dana finished it before the firework started, and she was glad, for she would have dropped it otherwise.    
  
The fireworks were magnificent. She had seen some displays before, from her bedroom window, but this was on a completely new level.    
Dew came over to crouch down beside her, resting his arms on her legs, and telling her which fireworks were enhanced by ghoul magic, and how they had done it.   
Dana was absolutely mesmerised by it.    
The way the colours painted across the sky, the high pitched whistling sounds, the responses from the crowd and occasional screams of “Happy New Year!” were very engaging and the girl was almost sad by the time it was over.   
  
This is when Imperator sent out the Senior Siblings to usher the younger ones to bed. The convent did have some people in it who weren’t of age, so they were on a curfew that needed to be observed.    
After they were gone, the older siblings broke out the hard liquor.    
Swiss’ hour had come and he pulled a bottle of Vodka out of the snow, asking for people’s mugs and filling them.   
Dana took a big swig, eager to try, and then immediately coughed violently when she felt the burning liquid go down her throat.    
  
All the ghouls laughed and Aether gently patted her back to help her out.    
Dana’s face burned bright red for a minute, but then she joined in the general mirth.    
They weren’t laughing at her out of malice after all.    
  
“Take smaller sips,” Cirrus told her, still giggling.    
“You’ve never had anything harder than wine before, hm?”    
  
“Never. It burns so much!”    
  
“Yeah, you get used to the burn,” Aether looked down at her from where he was standing.    
“Don’t overdo it, okay? Don’t need you passing out.”    
  
They sat for a while, laughing and drinking. Occasionally, Dana glanced over to a gaggle of younger siblings, all around her age. They seemed to be planning something and when one came over, Dana tensed a bit.    
  
“Hey, you’re Dana, right? We’ve worked in the gardens together sometimes, remember me?”    
  
“Uhm.. Yeah. Alicia, yes?”    
  
“Exactly,” Alicia smiled widely, tucking her brown hair back under the veil where it had gotten loose.    
“We play tag around the bonfire every year. Wanna join us?”    
  
Dana wasn’t sure. Arsino had said she needed to talk to the siblings more, and Cummulus gave her an encouraging nod.    
  
“Sure, I’d like to. Thank you for asking me.”    
  
Alicia smiled at the ghouls around the table and then led Dana over to the fire where the other Siblings were already waiting. They gathered around Alicia, who seemed to be the ringleader here.    
  
“Alright guys, this is Dana, she’s gonna play with us.” The others greeted her warmly, which made Dana very hopeful.    
“So, I’ll go first. No hiding, and no tagbacks. And GO!”   
  
Everyone sprang into action, running away from Alicia, Dana a split second later than the rest.    
But she was fast, a lot faster than anyone expected and Alicia had no chance of catching her. Off to the side, the band watch their human enjoy herself, listening to the shrieks of laughter from the siblings as they raced around the bonfire. 

  
Dana was having the time of her life. No one had caught her yet, and she was elated. Now a young brother was “it” and he did his hardest to catch the lithe girl.    
She went down with a shriek when he tackled her.    
  
“Lord below, you are so fast!”    
  
They both laughed. He helped Dana up and then immediately took off. Now It was Dana’s turn to catch someone. It didn’t take long for her to touch someone and off she went again.    
  
Off to the side, some ghouls and siblings were dancing, the fire ghouls were showing off their powers against the water ghouls, there was laughter and shouting and everyone was having a good time.    
  
Lorenzo and Ignazio were making rounds with the Cardinal, stopping at the band’s table to chat, and Andrea was glowing happily within his gaggle of admirers.    
  
Everything went swimmingly.   
  
Aether and Dew were watching Dana, for very different reasons. Aether was glad to see her so exuberant, while Dew noted everytime she let out a laugh, the flames would crackle. Interesting. He was so focused, he didn’t notice in time.    
  
“OH SHIT!”   
  
“MOVE, IT’S FALLING!!”   
  
“DANA!”


End file.
